On the 18th anniversary of Hrant Dink's assassination, we will focus on the courageous discussions he led as a journalist on truth, justice and confrontation. In addition to these topics, we will take a look at the political and social climate in Turkey during the period when Hrant Dink was targeted. These conversations will help us understand the enduring impact of Hrant Dink's legacy on the present day.
- All events will be held at the 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory.
- A separate registration form must be completed for each event.
- The events will be held in hybrid format (face to face and on Zoom).
- For face to face events, the capacity is 38 people per event.
- For Zoom events, the capacity is 100 people per event.
- A Guided Tour of the 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory will be held before each event. To join the Guided Tour, please tick the “I will attend the Guided Tour” option in the event registration form.
- The language of the events is Turkish.
Monday, January 13
A conversation on the book “Hrant”
A conversation on the book “Hrant”
Speakers: Tûba Çandar, Karin Karakaşlı
15.00- Guided Tour
17.00–18.30 Conversation
Author of Hrant Dink’s biography Tuba Çandar and Hrant Dink’s colleague from the Agos Newspaper, Karin Karakaşlı will discuss Hrant Dink’s life and struggle. This discussion will also touch upon the memorialisation work undertaken during the book preparation phase.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
Tuesday, January 14
“Memory Too Low for Words” and a conversation with Ümit Kıvanç
“Memory Too Low for Words” and a conversation with Ümit Kıvanç
Speaker: Ümit Kıvanç
12.00- Guided Tour
15.30- Film Screening
17.30–18.30 Conversation
Following screening of the film ‘System Memory Too Low For Words’, which transforms Hrant Dink’s words to color, shape and sound, together with Ümit Kıvanç we will discuss the values for which Hrant Dink struggled, the issues he championed, the film and the film production process.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
Wednesday, January 15
I am Looking for My Relative
I am Looking for My Relative
Speakers: Jülide Aral, Pakrat Estukyan, Fethiye Çetin, Ayşe Gül Altınay
Moderator: Ayfer Bartu Candan (Hrant Dink Foundation)
15.00 - Guided Tour
17.00–18.30 Conversation
Based on the section in the Agos Newspaper titled “I am Looking for My Relative”, during this conversation we will discuss the ads placed in the Agos Newspaper by people searching for relatives, Hrant Dink’s articles on and contribution to this issue and the stories of those looking for their roots and identities.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
Thursday, January 16
The Spirit of the Time
Speakers: Ali Bayramoğlu, Hülya Deveci, İbrahim Kaboğlu
Moderator: Işın Eliçin
15.00 - Guided Tour
17.00–18.30 Conversation
Understanding and interpreting the events and phenomena of a particular period requires grasping the "spirit of the time" of that era. During this conversation, we will discuss the period before Hrant Dink's assassination on January 19, 2007, the social developments during the time he was being targeted, the social and political climate, and the spirit of that time.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
Friday, January 17
A Look at Armenian Culture and History Through Hrant Dink's Office15.00–17.00 Workshop
This workshop, which aims to shed light on Armenian culture and history based on the correlation between the images in Hrant Dink’s room, will be held at the 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory. With the workshop participants, we will be focusing on human stories and narratives about Armenian culture through the portraits, paintings and objects on the walls.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
Saturday, January 18
On the Sebat Building Video MappingKonuşmacı: Memed Erdener
Moderatör: Aylin Vartanyan
15.30–17.00 Conversation
19.00 - Video Mapping
On the 18th anniversary of Hrant Dink's assassination, we are meeting at the 23.5 Hrant Dink Memory Site with artist Memed Erdener, who created the video mapping to be projected on the facade of the Sebat Building on January 18 and 19 from 19:00 to 23:00.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
To register for this event, please complete the form.
Born in 1948, Tuba Çandar attended the Austrian High School in Istanbul. She received an AFS Intercultural Programs scholarship and completed her studies in the USA. Çandar received her Bachelor's degree in political science and international relations at Ankara University in 1979. Çandar went to exile in Germany after the military coup of March 1971, and following the amnesty, returned to Turkey where she became the editor-in-chief of "Bizim Almanca" magazine under the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet. She worked as an editor at Gergedan magazine and freelanced for various dailies including Yeni Yüzyıl, penning pieces on culture, arts and travel, and Gazete Pazar, where she started her "Portraits" column. Her first book about the life of one of Turkey's first female architects Mualla Eyüboğlu Anhegger, "Hitit Güneşi" (Hittite Sun) was published in 2003. She released "Murat Belge Bir Hayat" (Murat Belge. A Life) on the outspoken leftist Turkish intellectual and literary critic Murat Belge in 2007. Her latest book "Hrant" came out on Hrant Dink’s birthday, September 15 2010.
Ayşe Gül Altınay began her education at Diyarbakır Şair Sırrı Hanım Elementary School and continued at a village school in Çüngüş-Karakaya. In 2004, while reading Fethiye Çetin’s “My Grandmother”, she was deeply moved to discover that the places of her childhood were also the settings of Heranuş -Fethiye Çetin’s grandmother- and her tragic journey. Between 2005 and 2015, she conducted research on Islamized Armenians and the ways in which gender shapes the experience and memory of genocide. The book Grandchildren, which she co-edited with Fethiye Çetin, was published in Turkish, Armenian, French, and English. She was one of the co-organizers of the "Islamized Armenians" conference (2013, Hrant Dink Foundation) and the "Workshops in Memory of Hrant Dink" (2008–2015, Sabancı University). Ayşe Gül served on the Founding Board of Directors of the Hrant Dink Foundation, its Advisory Board, and the Advisory Board of the 23.5 Hrant Dink Memory Site. After a 23.5-year journey at Sabancı University, she continues her work at the YerGök Solidarity Association, which focuses on ecology, feminist+ solidarity, transformative activism, and collective healing.
She is a poet and writer, born in Istanbul in 1972. After graduating from the Boğaziçi University Department of Translation and Interpreting, she completed her Master’s degree in Comparative Literature at Yeditepe University. She worked for many years at the Agos newspaper. Karakaşlı, who has written for Radikal 2, Culture and Arts section, and Gazete Duvar, has published books in various genres, including short stories, novels, children's and young adult literature, and poetry.
She graduated from Istanbul University's Department of Psychology. She worked for many years as a group therapist at AMATEM and retired from Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital. Known for her work in the field of trauma, Aral focused on the traumas experienced by individuals who were subjected to torture during detention and imprisonment following the coup of September 12, 1980. In the 1990s, she worked on violence against women in the East and Southeast of Turkey under the umbrella of KAMER (Women’s Research Center).
Born in Gallipoli in 1956, he earned a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Political Science at Grenoble University in France and completed his master's and doctoral studies at Istanbul University's Faculty of Economics. Between 1981 and 1999, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Public Administration at Marmara University. He conducted research and authored books on the political role of the military, the Kurdish issue, Islamic movements, democracy, and the sociology of the state. Since 1990, he has written for newspapers such as Yeni Yüzyıl, Star, Yeni Binyıl, Yeni Şafak, and Karar. From 1998 to 2001, he coordinated the "Human Rights and New Tactics Project" on behalf of HYD. In 2008, he was among the initial signatories of the "I Apologize to My Armenian Brothers and Sisters" campaign. As part of the Wise Persons Commission, established in 2013 to seek a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue, he worked in the Marmara Region. From 2009 to 2015, he served as the chairperson of the International Hrant Dink Award Committee.
Born in 1953 in Rumelihisar, the second generation of a family that survived the 1915 Armenian Genocide and migrated to Istanbul, he was educated in the city's Armenian schools and worked as a biochemistry technician for many years. He is a columnist and editor of the Armenian pages of Agos Newspaper, and one of the founders of Sayat Nova Choir. His stories about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people, “Hay Hikâyeler” was published by Everest Publishing (2011) and the Armenian original “Bantukht Yerker” (Gurbet Türküleri, 2012) was published by Aras Publishing. He prepares weekly radio programs on 'Ayp FM' in Paris and 'Açık Radyo' in Istanbul.
He graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law in 1974 and completed his doctorate at Limoges University and Ankara University in 1981. He became an associate professor in 1987 and a professor at Marmara University Faculty of Law in 1994. In 2003, he served as the Chair of the Prime Ministry Human Rights Advisory Board. In 2018, he was elected as a member of parliament for Istanbul from the Republican People's Party (CHP). In 2024, he was elected President of the Istanbul Bar Association. On June 2, 2022, he was awarded France's Légion d’Honneur.
Born in the Maden district of Elazığ, she completed her primary and secondary education in Mahmudiye, Maden, and Elazığ. She graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Law. She served as a member of the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association Human Rights Center and as the spokesperson for its minority rights working group. Çetin is the author of My Grandmother (Anneannem, Metis, 2004) and I Am Ashamed! The Trial of the Hrant Dink Murder (Utanç Duyuyorum! Hrant Dink Cinayetinin Yargısı, Metis, 2013). Together with Ayşe Gül Altınay, she co-authored The Grandchildren (Torunlar, Metis, 2009). As the lawyer of Hrant Dink and Agos Newspaper, Çetin continued to represent the family following Dink's assassination and remains the legal representative of the Hrant Dink Foundation.
She graduated from Boğaziçi University’s Department of English Language and Literature, and has worked in the media sector since 1993, holding various positions from reporter to manager across nearly all media platforms, including television, radio, online, newspapers and magazines. She is currently the Foreign News Director at Halk TV and hosts and produces the program Sınırsız. Her articles are also published on Halk TV’s website, Haber 240. Previously, she worked for organizations such as CNN Türk, NTV, TRT-Türk, IMC TV, and the BBC World Service.
She is the founder of the Memory Museum for Historical Justice, lawyer, and human rights advocate. Deveci graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Law in 2001. A member of the Istanbul Bar Association and the Contemporary Lawyers Association, she is one of the lead attorneys and coordinators of the main Hrant Dink trial, in which public officials are being prosecuted. She has voluntarily pursued various social cases and contributed to efforts in law and human rights. She continues to practice as an independent lawyer in Istanbul.
He is a member of the Hafriyat art collective, which has left a mark on the recent past. Between 1997 and 2017, he worked under the name "Extramücadele," producing critical art that challenged dogmas. He participated in exhibitions in Turkey and abroad and taught at universities. He is currently an artist represented by Zilberman Gallery. His works can be viewed at memederdener.com.
Born in Istanbul in 1956, he graduated from Istanbul University, School of Journalism and Broadcasting. He worked in the editorial office of Milliyet, the news center of Cumhuriyet, the biweekly and later weekly Yeni Gündem magazine, and İletişim Publishing. In addition to political articles, he has written short stories and novels, with his books being published since 1987. He has contributed to Birikim magazine, Radikal, Nokta, Taraf, and the journalism platform P24. He produced documentaries and educational films for the World Health Organization and was involved in the preparation and launch of Agos Newspaper. Since the mid-1990s, he has been creating documentaries and experimental films. He currently writes for the online newspaper Duvar.
Aylin Vartanyan Dilaver pursued her education in political economy and literature at Barnard College and Columbia University. She continued her career by teaching critical reading and writing courses at Boğaziçi University, School of Foreign Languages. Since the establishment of the university’s Peace Education Practice and Research Center in 2006, she has actively worked as an instructor, organized seminars and conferences, and participated in curriculum development projects that blend critical pedagogy with an arts-based perspective. Her encounter in 2005 with Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed approach and the training she received strengthened her belief in the role of art in social transformation. In 2010, she began her doctoral studies at the European Graduate School in Switzerland. After obtaining her CAGS degree, she started doctoral research in Istanbul, focusing on a post-memory approach combined with photo-based storytelling with Armenian women living in the city. She has been passionately conducting workshops on "Expressive Arts and Conflict Transformation" since 2011, starting with members of the Yel Değirmeni subgroup of the Social Work Club at Boğaziçi University. Since February 2021, she has been a member and workshop facilitator at the Expressive Arts Institute Istanbul. Since 2022, as a retired lecturer, she has continued teaching at the university and organizing expressive arts-based workshops in educational settings.
