Uyghur researcher, writer, and human rights defender Rabigül Erkmen is Warsaw's first ICORN resident
In September 2024, Rabigül Erkmen arrived in Warsaw, Poland’s capital and took up the city’s first ICORN residency. She continues her research and advocacy work and aims to collaborate with universities and research institutions both in Poland and internationally.
Rabigül Erkmen is a researcher, writer, and an advocate for human and women’s rights,with a special focus on Uyghur language, culture, and the plight of the Uyghur people in China. She holds a PhD in Turkology from Hacettepe University in Ankara. Her PhD thesis analysed Uyghur manuscripts which are part of the Gunnar Jarring Collection at Lund University, Sweden.
Rabigül has collaborated with fellow experts throughout her career, concentrating on human rights violations faced by Uyghurs in China. One contribution was a 2021report documenting the mass persecution of the Uyghur people by the Chinese authorities.
Beyond her academic work, Rabigül Erkmen is a founding member of the Uyghur Online School, where she also volunteers as a teacher, helping Uyghur children in the diaspora to preserve their language and culture. She has also contributed articles to Totqulaq (Four-Leaf Clover), a children’s magazine aimed at fostering Uyghur identity.
As a researcher, vocal advocate, and a member of the Uyghur community, Erkmen has faced sustained harassment from the Chinese authorities due to her work in exposing the persecution of Uyghurs.
Warsaw ICORN City of Refuge
Warsaw joined ICORN in July2023, becoming the 84th ICORN City of Refuge globally, and the fifth in Poland, alongside Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław, and Katowice.
The ICORN residency in Warsaw is managed and hosted by the Warsaw Observatory of Culture, the city’s local governmental cultural institution.
