Throughout 2024, thanks to the support of the European Union, the Hrant Dink Foundation offered travel grants to a total of 41 individuals – 13 from Armenia, 28 from Turkey - for their visits to the neighbouring country with specific purpose and programme.

Individuals and groups which have already completed their projects in the neighbouring country with the support of the Travel Grant are as follows:

Hande Sever, a research-based artist from Ankara, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan, Sevan and Gyumri for the production of her film which traces the journey of a German soldier who captured photographs while traveling through the Russian and Ottoman Empires, and filmed the locations that corresponded to the original photographs.

Rüveyda Betül Çaya from Ankara, a master’s student from Middle East Technical University, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for studying Hagop Paronyan's satiric texts at the National Library of Armenia as part of her thesis on the Armenian Theatre Plays and the perspective of those plays to the Tanzimat period and Ottoman bureaucratic system.

Tatul Hakobyan, founder and coordinator, and Ashot Hakobyan, a project assistant from ANI Foundation for Armenian Studies from Yerevan received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Istanbul, Kars and Ani for filming a series of documentary films about Armenia-Ottoman Empire/Turkey relations between 1918-1921.

Tigran Paskevichyan, editor-in-chief, Lilit Grigoryan, interview host, cameramen Robert Kharazyan and Tigran Gasparyan from Aliq Media Armenia from Yerevan received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Istanbul for shooting interviews on Armenia-Turkey relations with influential public figures from both the government and opposition wings of Turkey.

Anahit Aleksanyan from Yerevan, a master’s student of Turkic Studies at Russian-Armenian University, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Istanbul for conducting interviews with the Women's Human Rights Association (KİH), Human Rights Association representatives and other actors in Turkey for her master’s thesis on “Factors Leading to the Abrogation of the Istanbul Convention in Socio-Political Discourse”.

Nune Shahumyan from Yerevan, a librarian of the Fundamental Scientific Library of National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Istanbul for studying the Armenian book collection at the Ormanean Library of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul and contributing to the process of digitalizing and copying the endangered books while improving their bibliographic descriptions.

Muhammet Demirbilek from Isparta, academic, faculty member of Suleyman Demirel University, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for delivering workshops on artificial intelligence at the Center for Teaching and Learning of American University of Armenia (AUA) and establishing collaboration with Armenian universities in the frames of EU funded educational programmes.

Zelişah Kızılkan from Istanbul, a Zaza duduk player, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for attending the classes of Armenian duduk master Gevorg Dabaghyan and collaborating with fellow artists to create audio-visual content. 

Deniz Özdoğan from Istanbul, a high school student, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for attending the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Discover Armenia Summer Youth Program and taking part in volunteering activities. 

Nevin Soyukaya, general coordinator, Pınar Can, communication coordinator, Dilan Kaya Taşdelen, a memory researcher and Aysel Fidan, a member of Diyarbakır Association for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets (DKVD) from Diyarbakır and Mardin, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan and Alagyaz to conduct oral history interviews within their project that aims at documenting the sociocultural lives and physical environment of the Yazidi and Armenian communities living in the city of Diyarbakır and Alagyaz to understand and promote how these communities can live together while preserving their cultural commonalities and differences.

Mehmet Karasu and David Çağan from Hatay, co-presidents of the “Hatay Yardım İnisiyatifi Derneği” (HAYI), received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for planning a youth exchange programme between Turkey and Armenia and to create a “Sister City” project between the Samandağ and Oshakan Municipalities.

Sevan Ataoğlu from Istanbul, the Secretary General of Anatolian Religions and Beliefs Platform, received the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for attending the 2024 Global Armenian Summit as a speaker and conducting research at different cultural institutions in preparation of his cultural heritage workshops that will be held in Istanbul.

Anet Sandra Açıkgöz from Istanbul, an artist and a curator, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan to attend the Open Your Door Laboratory at Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (NPAK) in order to conduct the installation of the exhibition. 

Mher Bekaryan and Davit Sargsyan from Yerevan, coordinators from Wikimedia Armenia, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Istanbul for attending the Wikimedia CEE Meeting and collaborating with the Wikimedia User Group Turkey for future projects. 

Ruzanna Ghazaryan, Lilit Mkhitaryan and Vahe Ayvazyan, representatives of Lamedia LLC from Yerevan, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Istanbul for doing research and shootings in Surp Mesrobyan School, Armenian children’s camp of Tuzla, Surp Hagop Armenian Hospital, Karagozyan Armenian Orphanage, and Sanasaryan Han for their documentary "Witnesses of the past" in Istanbul. 

Maral Civanyan, a musicologist from Istanbul, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan and Ejmiatsin for conducting her research on the instrument called 'kshots' (belongs to the family of cymbal) which was mainly used in church services, by visiting church archives, libraries and museums, interviewing church clergy and cymbal makers. 

Ani Kalaylı, Imelda Kuyumcu, Arpen Çinar, Lori Gulbenk, Karin Küçükoğlu and Murat Çakır, staff and teachers of Esayan Armenian School from Istanbul, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan and Gyumri to explore and learn about different teaching methodologies employed in institutions in Armenia, such as the AYB School, TUMO centre for creative technologies, the Gyumri Information Technologies Centre (GITC), “Gyumri Youth House” open youth centre, the Dream Bridgeman School, etc. 

Metin (Fidel) Kılıç from Mardin, a board member of Mardin Kültür Derneği, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for conducting research for his Phd project focusing on traditional musical heritage and the significance of Radio Yerevan for preserving Kurdish music. 

Barış Kuş, Ezgi Adanç, Yeşim Tatlıhan Tunçel, and Ertürk Erkek from Istanbul and Eskişehir, artists from Nomad Performance group, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for attending the festival organised by Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (NPAK) and present their performance “Displaced”. 

Nihat Gültekin, a researcher of Soviet Kurds from Ismail Beshikchi Foundation from Istanbul, Şeriban Matyar and Berivan Matyar, Kurdish art and folklore collectors from Folklora Me (Our Folklore) journal from Diyarbakir, received the support of the Travel Grant to visit Yerevan for conducting interviews with Radio Yerevan for their Kurdish broadcasts and Jamila Jalil who has compiled folk songs from Kurds living in Armenia for years as a member of Casime Jalil family, the first head of the Kurdish department of Radio Yerevan.

The 2023-2024 Travel Grant is conducted within the framework of the programme
“Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process: Rapid Responses" funded by the European Union.