Dutch-Turkish cultural programme for kids 2018

Genc Kultur Programme - Turkey x Netherlands

From April through December 2018, the Netherlands will give extra attention to activities that stimulate Turkish children’s interest in Dutch art and culture.

The goal is to help them expand their art horizons by making them more familiar Dutch art products specifically meant for kids. Also we would like to spread recognition amongst Turkish cultural operators that children are audience worth taking serious.

In Turkey, art and culture that is specifically meant for children is limited, even though 25% of the Turkish population is younger than 15 and as such is a very large target group. The Netherlands, by contrast, has a rich, high-quality children's culture. The exchange within the Genc Kultur (Culture Kids) programme is not only intended to promote Dutch art and culture but is also seen as a way to strengthen mutual understanding by working together with Turkish partners.

Below you will find a list of events we have supported or are supporting during the Genc Kultur programme. The programme is initialised and funded by DutchCulture, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ankara, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, Het Nieuwe Instituut, the Netherlands Film Fund, the Performing Arts Fund NL and Creative Industries Fund NL. Also, Paz Istanbul is our communication partner during Genc Kultur programme.

If you are interested in obtaining more information about Genc Kultur or about working together with Turkey, please contact our advisor Veysel Yuce.

You can also follow Genc Kultur through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. The activities of Genc Kultur will continue in 2019 and 2020.

Current

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the Love of Bee! (https://www.facebook.com/ariaskina/)
Partnership: Maria Sezer x Nil Ilkbaran x Güngör Erdem
Months: January-December

The project ‘For the Love of Bees!’ wants to foster awareness of ecological balance and stimulate an interest in beekeeping, especially amongst the younger generation. This project is inspired by the way school gardens in the Netherlands are used to teach children about nature.

In September and October, the fun continues with events in a Textile Printing workshop at the Mersin Science Festival in September 2018.

And then from October until December, there will be a Silkscreen Printing/Book-Making workshop at the Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul.

Kid-Eye View; redesigning the city with children TR--> NL
Partnership: Wereldmuseum x Informel Education - cocukistanbul
Months: April-October

Informel Education - cocukistanbul has developed a training method in which children between 8 and 12 are invited to rethink and redesign their neighbourhoods. During Genc Kultur, Informel Education - cocukistanbul is working together with the Wereldmuseum (World Museum) in Rotterdam to co-organise a series of workshops in both Istanbul and Rotterdam. The results of these workshops will be published on both websites and possibly be displayed in an exhibition in Istanbul.

Cinekid training

Partnership: Cinekid x 10 Turkish partners
Month: 19 September

The Cinekid Festival in the Netherlands is the largest children's media festival in the world. Children aged between 3 and 14 can watch new, unusual and striking films and television productions and play with new media installations. As part of the Genc Kultur kids’ programme, Cinekid is organising a one-day ‘train the trainer’ session, in which ten Turkish festivals and/or cultural operators will learn how to implement three different Cinekid children’s workshops during their own festival or event. Many of these events will take place this year, such as the Marmaris Short Movie Festival and the Atta Festival.

Istanbul Design Biennial
Partnership: IKSV X Pera Museum
Months: 24 September – 4 November

Pera Museum, in collaboration with Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), is one of the main venues for this year’s 4th Istanbul Design Biennial from 22 September to 4 November 2018. At Pera Museum, the Scales School investigates the fluidity of taxonomies, quantifications, and institutionalised norms, standards and values to highlight biases and assumptions in our social, economic and intellectual agreements. During this exhibition, Pera Museum will be preparing an educational programme together two Dutch designers. More information soon.

Marmaris Short Movie Festival

Partnership: KLIK x Marmaris Short film festival

Month: 9 October – 14 October

In 2018, the Marmaris International Short Film Festival will be organised for the fourth time. Audiences in Marmaris will encounter dozens of films from Turkey and around the world, including a selection of short films from the KLIK Animation Festival. In addition, Cinekid workshops will be given during the festival.

Ankara Puppet festival
Partnership: Ankara Puppet Festival
Month: October

The International Ankara Puppet Festival is an annual festival that started in 2015. It aims to introduce Ankara audiences to the best puppet theatre performances from all over the world and to show the magical world of puppets. This year a Dutch puppet company will join the festival and meet its Turkish audience.

Atta Festival  
Partnership: BonteHond x Atta Festival
Month: November

Atta Theatre Festival is working together with BonteHond in adapting BonteHond’s play, Wanted: Rabbit. This absurd miniature theatre with finger puppets centres on a rabbit that cannot be caught by the authorities. The adaptation is performed by Turkish actors and is going on tour for a year in Turkey. The play will also help Turkish actors to improve their abilities in the children's theatre genre.

Dutch Children’s Literature: Istanbul
Partnership: Tüyap Kitap Fuari
Month: November

During the Tüyap book fair, Dutch illustrators and children’s book authors will meet their Turkish audience. They will also visit a number of schools and book clubs.

Professional Children’s Literature Exchange
Partnership: Dutch Foundation For Literature x Turkish Publishers Association
Month: December

As part of Genc Kultur, the Dutch Foundation for Literature will organise a meeting for Turkish publishers with translators and book promotors from the Netherlands. During this meeting, Dutch participants will present recently published books to Turkish publishers and exchange ideas with their Turkish colleagues.

Past

Atma Kullan
Partnership: Rianne Koens x Banu Ugural
Months: January-March

Workshops held in different locations in Turkey, educating children about upcycling by effectively gathering/preparing and utilising discarded objects. The aim of the workshops: creating sustainable awareness, achieving waste prevention and stimulating creativity through participation.

Kereltje
Partnership: Theater Rast x Theater Sonnevanck
Months: January-April

Kereltje is an existing theatre play developed specifically for children by Theater Sonnevanck and Theater RAST. These two companies will collaborate in translating Kereltje into Turkish and adapting the play for the Turkish market.

Workshop Gaming Ankara
Partnership: Ellis in Wonderland x Bilkent University x BlisAnkara
Months: February-April

‘Design a game that will solve waste problems in your neighbourhood’ is the assignment game designer Ellis Bartholomeus (Ellis in Wonderland), working in cooperation with Bilkent University, gave to students of the BlisAnkara secondary school. The students used their newly acquired knowledge about game design to tackle waste problems in their neighbourhood. Ellis also trained some of the teachers at BlisAnkara to give workshops on game design themselves. During her visit, Ellis gave a guest lecture on games for the healthcare industry to game design students at Bilkent University.

Work visit: Turkish Museum & Art Educators
Partnership: Pera Museum x Izmir Mediterranean Academy x IKSV
Month: March

In March, three museum and art educators visited the Netherlands to meet Dutch colleagues and see and experience some Dutch examples in the field of art and museum education. During their four-day stay, they met with 20 colleagues and visited six museums.

World Puppet Day
Partnership: ’t Magisch Theatertje x Tiyatro Tempo x Puppet Festival Ankara
Month: March

In celebration of World Puppet Day on 21 March, Tiyatro Tempo organised a week of puppet shows. The Dutch collective ‘t Magisch Theatertje performed on the opening night. Their shows have been critically acclaimed at the international level. They staged a wordless, purely visual play, both for children and adults. The theme of the play is universal and philosophical, in pursuit of closing the gap between nationalities.

Tursak Children’s Film Festival
Partnership: KLIK, EYE x Tursak
Months: April-May

The Tursak Children’s Film Festival travels to four cities every year. This year it visited Istanbul, Yozgat, Van and Erzincan. With the help of Genc Kultur, Tursak worked together with the Dutch organisations KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival and EYE in showing short movies made by various Dutch animators. These shorts were shown about ten times during the festival.

Dutch Children Writer during Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival
Partnership: Dutch Foundation for Literature x Kalem Agency
Month: May

The Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival, one of the most important literature festivals in Turkey, invited Dutch children's book author Sjoerd Kuyper. Besides having the opportunity to connect with Turkish publishers, Kuyper engaged with Turkish children from three different neighbourhoods in Istanbul.

Meeting with Culture, Meshing with Art
Partnership: Noa Haim & Maria Sezer x Palet Kúltür Sanat ve Egitim Dernegi
Month: May

This project is created for schools located in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. The aim of the project is to inform and teach Turkish and Syrian children about their rights and to stimulate a new generation that respects others, thinks independently and is aware of its surroundings. Also, to make adaptation to their environment somewhat easier by using artistic and cultural methods, including workshops, seminars, and field trips for the children and their teachers.

Work visit: Turkish Publisher
Partnership: Dutch Foundation for Literature x Can Çocuk Publishers
Month: May

The Dutch Foundation for Literature invited Can Cocuk Publishers for a work visit to the Netherlands. During this work visit, they met Dutch colleagues and learnt more about Dutch children’s literature.