Local developmental projects

Local developmental projects are projects set up by NGOs and by cultural offices that belong to consulates in selected cities with the aim of increasing the participation of the local people, especially youth, to socio-cultural life and with the aim of developing local cultural policies through social activities.

• Anadolu Kültür

www.anadolukultur.com

 Anadolu Kültür was set up in 2002, and is a civic initiative, committed to fostering mutual understanding through arts and culture, and has been working as an NGO on the sharing of culture and artistic production. It focused on community development, participation, and a multi-stakeholder approach. Anadolu Kültür aims to share and diffuse cultural programs across Anatolia in partnership with local NGOs, municipalities and universities in order to contribute to the establishment and extension of civic initiatives in Anatolian cities. In its seven years of experience, Anadolu Kültür organized cultural and artistic events in almost 25 Anatolian cities.

Examples:

-          Batman / http://www.anadolukultur.org/tr/etkinlikler_k.asp?kategori=15&kat_id=5

-          Kayseri / http://www.anadolukultur.org/tr/etkinlikler_k.asp?kategori=15&kat_id=8

-          Urfa / http://www.anadolukultur.org/tr/etkinlikler_k.asp?kategori=15&kat_id=7

-          Between 2005 and 2009, with the collaboration of Anadolu Kültür and the Municipality of Kars, KAC (Kars Art Center) functioned as a cultural communication center, not only for Kars, but also for the rest of Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. KAC is the only multi-purpose hall in the city and it turned into a center where locals can come together for different purposes. KAC as an art complex consists of a multi-purpose hall for 311 persons, an art gallery that has international standarts, a dark room for photography and two workshop halls, in which many activities were hosted between 2005 and 2009, including film screenings, plays, concerts etc. http://www.anadolukultur.com/en/kars_sanat_merkezi.asp?kategori=3

-          The Causasus Initiative conists of joint cultural projects with countries from the Caucasus. The initiative started with the opening concert by KAC in which musicians from all four countries of the Caucasus participated and with exhibitions and workshops. The initiative is very active during the Kars Caucasus Cultures Festival, which is organized every year. The photography exhibitions, concerts and workshops make the locals of Kars and participating artists from the Caucasus interact with each other despite years of political discord and helps to overcome prejudices. Examples of projects organized by the initiative are:

Anadolu Kültür organized the ‘Young Eyes of the Caucasus’ workshop and exhibit that provided an opportunity to look at the effects of years of tension between the neighboring countries on the youth. Photographers under the age of 30 from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey spent 5 days at a workshop led by Özcan Yurdalan and found an opportunity to talk about politics as much as about art. The workshop ended in an exhibition within the festival that was instrumental in overcoming prejudices and in showing that the youth share experiences, regardless of national politics. The second stage of the Young Eyes of the Caucasus project took place at another Caucasus Cultural Festival. This time, photographers captured visions of young people in their own countries and exhibited their expectations from the future for photography enthusiasts. http://www.anadolukultur.com/en/kafkas_insiyatifi.asp?kategori=6

-          At the Turkey - Armenia Youth Symhony Orchestra Concerts (Türkiye - Ermenistan Gençlik Senfoni Orkestrası Konserleri) 69 young musicians from Turkey and Armenia came together for a very special concert in which they performed a repertoire that also includes composers’ works from two countries. Led by the conductors Nvart Andreassian (Armenia) and Cem Mansur (Turkey), the Turkey-Armenia Youth Symphony Orchestra performed on Friday, July 16 at Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall. http://www.anadolukultur.org/en/etkinlikler_d.asp?kategori=6&kat_id=3&id=346

-          ‘The Serious Road Trip - Connextion Humanitarie Bisontine’ (which is both the name of the project and of the organization set up for the purpose http://www.theseriousroadtrip.org/history/) executed a project in Kars, in collaboration with Semaver Kumpanya, Anadolu Kultur, Municipality of Kars and Community Volunteers. The project consisted of trainings, workshops, performances and festivals and had the aim to create dynamism in the circus field and to train adults to make circus activities in front of children. The project aimed to train youth who are interested in circus and develop their creativity and self-discipline. The project was realized in Kars, between July 5 and 18th http://www.anadolukultur.org/tr/etkinlikler_d.asp?kategori=13&kat_id=8&id=349. 

-          The project ‘My City’ was conceived by the British Council together with partners from Turkey Anadolu Kultur and Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Centre. Starting in 2009, five artists from Europe were invited to Turkey to develop a unique work of public art for a specific city in Turkey. The selected cities were Çanakkale, Istanbul, Konya, Mardin and Trabzon. The project had a substantial educational component focusing on young people in the five cities and providing a forum for them to discuss and debate the design of their cities.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/turkey-arts-culture-my-city.htm.

-          The Goethe Institute has realized high-profile arts tours throughout Turkey and Europe from May 2009 through June 2010 funded by the European Union’s “Cultural Bridges” program. The tour has so far brought 48 established authors and countless musicians, photographers, filmmakers and artists from eight European countries (Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) to 24 cities throughout Turkey. The project will continue in 8 European cities. The project aims to appeal especially to young people by setting the readings at universities and schools, organizing video workshops and offering an interactive blog http://www.goethe.de/ins/tr/lp/prj/cub/enindex.htm.