We are pleased to share with you the 2014 Annual Report of the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF).

The Spotlight on Turkey program continued to be one of TCF’s flagship programs. Under the 2014 program, TCF and local WACA chapters organized 10 Teacher Workshops on Turkey with the participation of 277 teachers, creating a student impact of over 18,000. TCF took 48 teachers on two Teacher Study Tours to Turkey in 2014, bringing the number of the TCF Study Tours alumni to 527 educators from across the United States. By the end of 2014 and since this program’s inception in 2007, nearly 3,300 American teachers and an estimated 348,000 students benefited from the Spotlight on Turkey program.

The TCF Culinary Arts Center (YESAM) and the TCF Cultural Heritage Preservation and Natural Dyes Laboratory (DATU) in Istanbul matured into leading resources on Turkey’s culinary and textile heritage. DATU and YESAM scholars work year-round to advance the cultural preservation and public education missions of TCF through research, publications, seminars and collaborations with other institutions. A significant part of DATU’s work is dedicated to helping cultural institutions conserve and restore historical artifacts. In 2014, DATU provided pro bono analytical services to 15 institutions in Turkey, the United States and Azerbaijan.

Under the TCF Lecture Series, a total of 19 lectures on Turkish culture, art and cuisine took place at the TCF İstanbul branch office and the TCF Culinary Arts Center with a total participation of over 600. The lecture videos, made available on the TCF Video Gallery, were viewed nearly 7,300 times by visitors from all over the world.

Two TCF Fellowship programs help build artistic, cultural and scholarly exchanges across the globe. Combined, the TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art and the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship have provided funding to 148 culture professionals, including musicians, visual and performing artists, writers, curators, scholars and many others. In 2014 alone, 40 individuals benefitted from these fellowships to participate in a variety of cultural and artistic showcases and academic events.

The TCF Portals continue to provide a gateway to learn more about Turkish culture, music and cuisine. They were visited by over 3.5 million people from 215 countries and regions in 2014, spreading knowledge about Turkey’s cultural heritage. A new website, the TCF Education Portal, was launched in 2014 with a view to providing an online resource for educators who wish to teach about Turkey.

We thank everyone who participated in our work and renew our commitment to explore and preserve our shared human heritage and to build cultural bridges across the world.

The Turkish Cultural Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2016 Cultural Exchange Fellowship Program.

Established in 2012, the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship is awarded twice a year and aims to support international exchanges between artists and other culture professionals. Since the program’s inception, 89 individuals received the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship and participated in a wide range of cultural and artistic programs in Turkey and across the world.

The deadline to apply for the first term is January 24, 2016 and June 30, 2016 for the second term. Applications may be made for either term at this time.

For more information on eligibility, terms and application forms, please visit the TCF website.

Turkish Philanthropy Funds, Turkish Cultural Foundation and ARMAGGAN Art and Design Gallery are pleased to announce an online art sale to benefit the Turkish Philanthropy Funds′ Scholarship Fund.

The collection presented for sale consists of works by select Turkish contemporary artists and have been showcased by TCF and ARMAGGAN Art and Design Gallery at exclusive international exhibitions including at the Sculpture Objects and Functional Art Fair - SOFA in Chicago and at the Istanbul Breeze exhibition in New York. The artworks will be shipping directly from New York.

Net proceeds from the sale will be donated to Turkish Philanthropy Funds’ Scholarship Fund. ARMAGGAN Art and Design Gallery is waiving all commission fees to benefit the fundraiser.

For detailed information about the artists and the artworks, please download the collection brochure.
Please visit here to view the collection online and to participate in the fundraiser.

We are pleased to announce that the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF) has entered into official relations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO.

In her letter informing TCF of the decision, UNESCO Director-General Bokova stated that "there is clear relevance to the current programs and priorities of UNESCO, particularly in the field of intangible cultural heritage," and added that "the establishment of official relations between UNESCO and the Turkish Cultural Foundation will provide new possibilities to enhance the impact of our respective actions in this field." TCF is one of only 28 foundations worldwide which enjoy this relationship with UNESCO.

According to UNESCO guidelines, the status is conferred to organizations which "pursue goals that are in conformity with UNESCO ideals and with the ethical principles recognized by the international community, including those proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Accepted organizations are affirmed to have "the will and the means to contribute to the achievement of UNESCO′s goals and program" and to "effectively carry out activities in several countries in a spirit of international cooperation and mutual support and of respect for cultural identity."

Dr.Yalcin Ayasli, Founder and Chairman of TCF stated on the occasion: "We are deeply honored by the decision of UNESCO and the recognition of our work, which further strengthens our commitment to the core mission of TCF to explore, promote and preserve our shared human heritage and build cultural bridges between people across the world."

Two groups of a total of 48 American middle and high school teachers visited Turkey last month as part of the Turkish Cultural Foundation's Teacher Study Tours.  This year's teachers hailed from the states of California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Washington D.C.

The teachers began their 14-day journey in Istanbul and visited Bursa, Canakkale, Gelibolu (Gallipoli) and Troy, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Konya and Catalhoyuk, Cappadocia and Ankara. In addition, the teachers visited Darussafaka Schools, Arnavutkoy Korkmaz Yigit Anadolu High School, and the Atakoy Village School, met with diplomats, policy experts, and representatives of Turkish civil society.

Teachers are now developing lesson plans on Turkey, which are shared on the TCF Education Portal. 75 lesson plans on Turkey, covering a wide array of subjects, are currently available on the Lesson Plans Platform.

With the addition of this year's teachers, 575 American teachers will have visited Turkey as part of this program.

You can read more about the teachers' journey on the TCF Study Tour Blog and on Facebook and Twitter. You may also read Comments by participants on the TCF Teacher Study Tours and media articles about the tours on the TCF Education Portal.

The Turkish Cultural Foundation is pleased to announce the eight recipients of the second term 2015 TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship Program.

The TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship was launched in 2012 with a view to support the participation of artists and other culture professionals in programs that facilitate cultural and artistic exchanges between Turkey and the world. Turkish nationals can benefit from this fellowship to participate in programs outside of Turkey, while international artists and culture professionals are eligible to receive support for events and projects taking place in Turkey. The Fellowship has been awarded to 85 individuals to date.

For more information on the 2015 TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows and their events, please visit the TCF website and TCF Culture Calendar.

Gizem Aksu (Turkey), a dancer and choreographer, will participate in the residency program of DanceWEB within the frame of ImPulsTanz - Vienna international Dance Festival, Vienna, Austria, July 15 - August 19.

Corinne Beardsley (U.S.A.), a sculptor, will participate in the 2015 Artist-in-Residency program at the Babayan Culture House in Cappadocia, Turkey on September 10 - October 8 to create and later locally exhibit sculptures and installations inspired by the landscape and culture of the region.

Marco Cops (The Netherlands), a multimedia artist, curator and consultant for public art, will join a multi-disciplinary workshop at the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture of Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey on November 1 - 15. The workshop, titled "Urban Playground," will design an urban playground.

Tesla Manaf Effendi (Indonesia), a Jazz composer, guitarist, and music producer, will join the Babayan Culture House Art Residency Program 2015 in Cappadocia, Turkey on November 5 - December 3 to pursue his collaborating project of filmmaking and music with Gracia Octaveni Lumbantobing.

Mehveş Lelic (Turkey / Germany), a photographer, will participate in the residency program at Ateliers Fourwinds in Aureille, France on July 29 - August 13 to complete her new studio project that explores the meaning behind the medium and finalize it for an exhibition.

Gracia Octaveni Lumbantobing (Indonesia), a film and video artist, will participate in the Babayan Culture House Art Residency Program 2015, Cappadocia, Turkey on November 5 - December 3 to pursue her collaborative project of film and music with Tesla Manaf Effendi.

Meghan Nuttall Sayres (U.S.A.), a writer, will work on a collaborative project entitled "Street Wise Istanbul" with photographer Aramis Kalay in Istanbul in fall 2015.

Seval Şener (Turkey), a painter and academician, will attend the Project Space "Circa...dit," show in Arnhem, the Netherlands on August 17 - September 6 for a solo exhibition and presentation on Contemporary Turkish Art.

The newly inaugurated UNESCO Chair on Management and Promotion of World Heritage Sites: New Media and Community Involvement at Kadir Has University will hold its first international summer school on June 15-29 in Istanbul. TCF is a partner of the UNESCO Chair and supports its work in the area of research and international educational exchanges.

The Summer Program′s "World Heritage and Digital Technologies" course aims to explore innovative ways of enhancing community involvement through the use of new media at World Heritage sites. The first week of the school will be held at Kadir Has University in Istanbul on theoretical issues, while the second week will be spent on the Bergama World Heritage site, focusing on developing a mobile application for the site. Graduate students with a background in Conservation, Architecture, Computer Engineering, Communications Technology and Design are encouraged to apply. For more information and to apply, please visit here.

Eligible students may receive support to attend the summer school under the TCA Scholarship Program.

The Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF) is pleased to announce the release of "A Useless Man," Selected Stories by Sait Faik Abasıyanık, one of Turkey's leading authors. Translated from Turkish by Maureen Freely and Alexander Dawe, the book is published by Archipelago Books, a non-profit press devoted to contemporary and classic world literature, with support from TCF.

Sait Faik Abasıyanık was born in Adapazarı in 1906 and died in Istanbul in 1954. In twelve books of short stories, two novels, and a book of poetry, Sait Faik’s writing celebrates the natural world and renders in vivid detail the struggles of his characters: ancient coffeehouse proprietors and priests, dream-addled fishermen and poets of the Princes' Isles, lovers and wandering minstrels of another time. Many stories are loosely autobiographical and deal with Sait Faik's frustration with social convention, the relentless pace of westernization, and dehumanizing of his beloved Istanbul. Sait Faik is greatly revered to this day, lending his name to Turkey's most prestigious short story award.

The book will be introduced in New York on May 27 at 7pm, where Co-translator Maureen Freely in conversation with Edmund White will talk about the book at 192 Books (192 10th Avenue). Another celebration of the release will take place on April 25 at 7pm at the Mosaic Rooms in London (226 Cromwell Road, Greater London) with Mr.Freely in conversation with Maya Jaggi.

To order the book, please visit here.

The Turkish Cultural Foundation is pleased to announce the 13 recipients of the first term 2015 TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship Program.

The TCF Fellowship Program was launched in 2012 with a view to support the participation of artists and other culture professionals in programs, which facilitate cultural and artistic exchanges between Turkey and the world. Turkish nationals can benefit from this fellowship to participate in programs outside of Turkey, while international artists and culture professionals are eligible to receive support for events and projects taking place in Turkey. The Fellowship has been awarded to 77 individuals to date.

For more information on the 2015 TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows and their events, please visit the TCF website and TCF Culture Calendar.  TCF is now accepting applications for the 2nd term of the 2015 Cultural Exchange Fellowship.

The Turkish Cultural Foundation is pleased to announce the release of a new publication on Turkish music. Türk Halk Müziği Sözlüğü (Turkish Folk Music Dictionary) is the first of its kind in Turkish folk music studies and was authored by Dr.Melih Duygulu, a leading musicologist and Chair of the Ethnomusicology Department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, Turkey.

The dictionary, published in Turkish in December 2014, is the result of a multi-year research project led by Dr.Duygulu under the patronage of the Turkish Cultural Foundation. Building on his long-standing academic work in this area, from 2009-2014, Dr.Duygulu and his team conducted a series of field studies all around Turkey, collecting over 3000 Turkish folk music terms in 68 provinces, 210 counties, 1000 villages and through interviews with nearly 2,000 sources. In addition to being the most comprehensive source on Turkish folk music terms, the dictionary also carries special value for  Turkish language studies.

The Turkish Folk Music Dictionary is the latest of a series of projects in the area of Turkish music studies brought to life by the Turkish Cultural Foundation in collaboration with Dr.Duygulu. They include the TCF Turkish Music Portal, available in English, French, German and the Turkish Music Dictionary, the broadest English-Turkish dictionary on musical terms, made available online on the TCF portals.

The publication may be ordered here from the publisher. Educational institutions and libraries may request a complimentary copy from TCF, by sending a request to pr@turkishculture.org.

(L) Melih Duygulu filming the making of a folk flute-kaval in the Erikbelen village of Tokat, once famous for this craft, in the last remaining workshop in the village. (R) Interviewing one of the few remaining makers and players of the Turkish fiddle-kemane, Mustafa Özkan, in Şenpazar, Kastamonu.

TCF is pleased to announce the establishment of the UNESCO Chair on Management and Promotion of World Heritage Sites: New Media and Community Involvement at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. TCF is a partner in the Kadir Has UNESCO Chair together with Bilkom and World Heritage Travelers Association and will support the work of the Chair in the area of research and international educational exchanges.

The protocol establishing the UNESCO Chair was signed at a ceremony on January 7 by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Prof. Dr. Mustafa Aydın, Rector of Kadir Has University. It is the first UNESCO Chair in cultural heritage in Turkey and will work on promoting and enhancing community involvement in World Heritage sites in Turkey through the application of new media. There are currently 13 sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and 52 nominations. The Chair's scope will include all sites. Among the projects planned are an international summer school for graduate students and the development of new media applications for Turkey's World Heritage sites. Community and youth education will be another important component of the Chair's work. An inter-disciplinary academic team at Kadir Has University will lead the work of the Chair under the leadership of Dr. Yonca Kösebay Erkan.

From left: Güler Köknar, TCF, Azade Çerkezoğlu Çavuş, Bilkom, Irina Bokova, UNESCO, Mustafa Aydın, Kadir Has, Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Botsalı, Permanent Representative of Turkey to UNESCO, Yonca Kösebay Erkan, Kadir Has.

TCF is now accepting applications for its Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art. The Fellowship is awarded to support the publication of outstanding papers/articles in the area of Turkish cultural and social studies, as well as to support the participation of scholars in leading conferences in this subject area. Since its launch, 77 scholars have been awarded the TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art.

Applications for the TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art will be accepted on a year-round basis.

For detailed eligibility and application information, please visit the TCF website.