Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2015- Thursday, May 21, 2015

Location: Havak Hall, Anarad Hıgutyun Building, Hrant Dink Foundation

Cultural Heritage in Anatolia, as a project undertaken by the Hrant Dink Foundation, aims to contribute to the visibility of and the responsibility for the Greek/Orthodox, Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac and Jewish heritage in Anatolia by putting together an inventory of their records. The database, which includes public structures such as churches, monasteries, synagogues, schools, hospitals, and cemeteries, has been shared in the form of an online map. The larger goal of this two-day event was to exchange ideas and experiences between similar projects and to be able to think collectively on issues of cultural heritage in Turkey. Key questions that will be addressed through the workshop included: 

What is cultural heritage? How is it defined in different disciplines?

How do communities get involved in the protection of cultural heritage? 

What is the scope of cultural heritage projects in Turkey? What are the limitations/challanges?

Wednesday, May 20 

1st session entitled “Cultural Heritage: Concepts and Applications” moderated by  Anestis Vasilakeris from Boğaziçi University.Thomas Sinclair from University of Cyprus took the floor with his paper about definition and classification of cultural heritage; Korhan Gümüş from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University talked on cultural heritage as particapatory practice; Nilgün Tutal Cheviron from Galatasaray gave a speech about university cultural heritage tourism policies in Turkey.

2nd session entitled “Cultural Heritage: Theories and Inquiries” moderated by Işık Aydemir from Europa Nostra, Turkey. Çigdem Atakuman from Middle East Technical University talked on  history, definition and value of cultural heritage in Turkey; Alin Pontioglu who hold M.Sc. in Architecture and Restoration spoke about producing cultural heritage reports with the example of Elazığ; Costas Stamatopoulos from Europa Nostra presented his paper about cultural heritage projects under Europa Nostra.

Thursday, May 21 

Multicultural Inventory Workshop modarated by Anestis Vasilakeris from Boğaziçi University and Çigdem Atakuman from METU.The workshop aimed to discuss and investigate the multiple definitions, concepts, and methods of cultural heritage care and protection. The Cultural Inventory Project team shared the results and implications of their work, which has been ongoing since the beginning of 2014. The team also presented case studies that will then be discussed in groups by the workshop participants. The participants, in turn, shared their analyses, suggestions, and newly formulated questions.