EU-Turkey Intercultural Dialogue Programme Afoot With Diverse Colors in Different Cities
The EU-Turkey Intercultural Dialogue (ICD) Programme is providing donation support to four major projects implemented by the cultural actors of the European Union members. The programme brings together different cultural actors for creativity and undertakes activities with the principles of common understanding, communication and interaction all around the world.
The “Connect 4 Creativity” project creates room for international cooperation
The “Connect 4 Creativity,” implemented by the British Council, is one of the supported projects. The project conducts the cultural relations of the United Kingdom with other countries and it is implemented in cooperation with major partners such as Nova Iskra from Serbia, Bios from Greece and ATÖLYE and Abdullah Gül University from Turkey.
The project was promoted to the public with an event held at Bomontiada-ATÖLYE on May 7, 2019. Delivering a keynote speech during the event, British Consul-General to Istanbul Judith Slater drew attention to the importance of dialogue among individuals, groups and cultures for coming up with solutions to social, political and economic difficulties.
Yunus Emre Institute Strategy Development and Corporate Communications Director Bülent Üçpunar pointed out that Yunus Emre Institute is working to improve and strengthen the cultural ties between Turkey and other countries. "The world history and our special history are rife with such good examples. The Intercultural Dialogue Programme, co-financed by the EU and Turkey, is one of such good projects. There was a long process of preparation and evaluation related to this project and as a result of this process, grants were allocated to four major projects," he said.
During the event, Prof. Andy Pratt, a faculty member of the University of London, talked about new perspectives on the project and the sector. Pratt indicated that people can find easier solutions to their problems if they come together to discuss them. "It is crucial to create environments where information is no commercialized and formalized. For instance, it is important to know in advance what a partner does in a project or if you will like it or not. We share the information with each other and transfer it; what we need to do is to come together and create permanent communication networks," he said.
The “Connect 4 Creativity” project hosted an international conference in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, between June 12 and 14, 2019. The conference entitled "Creative Backslash: from precarious individuals to resilient organizations" was held at the Cultural Center of Belgrade and Fabrika event space with the participation of keynote speakers, artists, creative entrepreneurs, platform representatives, students, academics and policy makers from Europe, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the Balkans. Coming together at presentations, panel discussions and workshops, the participants touched upon some emerging issues, such as creative work and mental health, personal development, resilience and organization design.
Diversity in Unity
The another Intercultural Dialogue project, “Diversity in Unity,” led by the Hungarian Cultural Center and implemented by the project partners Kalem Literary Agency and the Turkey-European Foundation, hosted several events during Europe Day (May 9) festivities. The events, including the opening ceremony of the project, which seeks to boost cultural interaction between the countries flanking the Danube and Turkey, were performed at Kadıköy Freedom Park in Istanbul with the participation of the public.
The activities were given a start with the folk music concert given by the Association of Ethnomusicology Trio on May 9. Then, the documentary entitled "Ada Kaleh" (Lost Palace), directed by Romanian documentary director Alexandru Munteanu, was screened. On the second day of the event, the Association of Ethnomusicology Trio gave a concert with Balkan folk music pieces. Then, the participants had an opportunity to watch the documentary "Kyselak war da! Graffiti anno 1825" directed by Chico Klein. In the events attracting a huge crowd on Saturday, May 11, 2019, the literary competition entitled "Stories on the Danube," to be held as part of the project, was announced. Following a literary interview with the members of the competition's jury, a concert was held to commemorate Imago Mundi and Dimitrie Cantemir from Romania. The program ended with the screening of a selection of Hungarian short films.
The artists selected under the “Be Mobile – Create Together!” projects to be announced in July
The “Be Mobile – Create Together!” project, implemented by Institut Français, kicked off with a press conference on March 20, 2019. Following the promotional meeting, an open call was made for the artist residency programmes to be implemented under the project.
There were more than 600 applications to the “Be Mobile – Create Together!” project's residency programmes, and Turkey took the lead in the application with 60% of all applications, and was followed by France, Germany and the Netherlands. The programmes to be held at different art centers in Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey at different time frames received applications mostly from the artists in the fields of digital and visual arts, performing arts or literature.
The artists who will have an opportunity to be hosted by the reputable art venues in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey will be selected in June and publicly announced in early July.
A total of 26 artists (13 from Turkey and 13 from France, Germany and the Netherlands) will be hosted by the project with the intention of creating an artistic platform of exchange, networking, cultural engagement and inspiration while the artists are researching and creating an artistic project in the countries they are visiting.
The projects implemented as part of the Intercultural Dialogue Programme will continue to bring together diverse languages and cultures at different venues across Europe and in Turkey with their vivid activities in the 2019 summer period. You can monitor the news and announcements regarding the events from the social media accounts and website of the Intercultural Dialogue Programme and you can be part of these new stories:
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