Istanbul Bilgi University
Cultural Policy and Management Research Center (KPY)
About Us
Cultural Policy and Management Research Center (KPY) established by Istanbul Bilgi University (BİLGİ) in 2010 is one of the first research centers to conduct studies within the field of cultural policy and cultural management in Turkey. KPY was established by Istanbul Bilgi University’s Cultural Management Program in 2006 within the scope of the project entitled “Developing Local Cultural Policies in Turkey” carried out with the support of the European Cultural Foundation (ECF – Amsterdam). Following this, Istanbul Bilgi University’s Cultural Management Program implemented the project entitled ‘Building Capacities for Local Cultural Policy Transformation in Turkey’ financed by the Social Transformation Program (MATRA) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with Anadolu Kültür (Istanbul), European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam) and Boekmanstichting (Amsterdam) and it was established as a research center under BİLGİ University Presidency within the framework of the Regulation published in the Official Gazette in 2010.
KPY’s objectives can be listed as conducting analyses and developing strategies and recommendations related to research-based applications with regard to the fields of cultural policy and management in Turkey, to share these analyses and studies with all actors within the cultural field and working towards establishing educational and research collaborations both at the national and international level in order to advance knowledge sharing levels between the actors.
KPY carries out research, training, and publications that would support the process of developing a democratic and participatory cultural policy in Turkey, advancement of a cultural economy and the increase of participation in culture while conducting studies with the objective of knowledge generation, analysis, editing, assessment and ensuring prevalence for good practices fulfilling the function of a cultural observatory.
Feeding from the experiences of Istanbul Bilgi University's Bachelor Programs in Arts and Cultural Management and Management of Performing Arts and Cultural Management Master's Program as well as the alumni of these programs, KPY places particular emphasis on the cooperation between all stakeholders of the cultural field and the transfer of knowledge between these stakeholders. In this context KPY publication entitled ‘KPY Yearbook’ is being prepared in both English and Turkish once a year and it is being published by Istanbul Bilgi Publications. KPY organizes conferences each year on a regular basis regarding cultural policy and management by inviting international speakers.
With these activities KPY not only aims to bring current academic studies and the results of new research studies conducted both in Turkey and various parts of the globe but also enriching the opportunities of knowledge sharing between the private sector, public and civil society organizations as a result of these.
KPY, archives the news articles related to the fields of cultural policy and management published in the press since 2010. This archives are then uploaded to a web-based blog address that can be accessed by the private sector, researchers, academics, professionals working in the fields of arts and culture as well as students. KPY collects books, e-books, journals, e-journals, articles, reports, theses and relevant academic e-resources related to these issues in a cultural policy research library focused on cultural policy and management topics under Istanbul Bilgi University's Library and these resources are opened to access.
Vision and Objectives
One of KPY’s main objectives is to function as a capacity building center within the fields of cultural policies and management where national and international research studies are compiled, published, collaborative and education-learning studies are advanced, new research and policy-making studies are carried out and shared.
KPY adopted generating knowledge, analyzing, editing, evaluating and ensuring wide currency within the field of cultural policies as its vision in support of the process of establishing a democratic and participatory cultural policy in Turkey.
KPY’s objectives can be summarized as the following:
• Conducting research studies in the field of cultural policy and management and encouraging these studies.
• Organizing professional meetings and discussion platforms with regard to participatory local policy development/making across Turkey.
• Acting as a leader for building collaborations in Turkey, Europe and neighboring countries within the fields of cultural management and policy development.
• Publishing "Cultural Policy and Management Yearbook" each year in Turkish and English, in order to reinforce the communication between the professionals of cultural policy and management and enrich academic dialogue.
• Establishing a pool of experts to organize training sessions and conduct research on cultural policy and management and generating theoretical and practical expert knowledge.
Team
KPY Board of Directors
Members of the Founders Advisory Board
• Jordi Pascual, Researcher and Administrator in Cultural Policies and Local Development, “Agenda 21 for Culture” Process Coordinator, Barcelona.
• Milena Dragicevic Sesic, Professor, Belgrade University of Arts, UNESCO Chair on Interculturalism, Art Management and Mediation, Belgrade.
• Isabelle Schwarz, Head of Advocacy and Programs, European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam.
• Levan Khetaguri, Professor, Ilia State University, Tblisi.
• Nazareth Karoyan, Art Critic, AICA Armenia.
• Nada Osman Alaeddine, Project Coordinator, Rawafed, Damascus.
• Basma El Husseiny, Director, Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy (Culture Resource), Brussels/Cairo.
• Jalal Toufic, Artist, Director, Author, Beirut.
• Sohrab Mahdavi, Translator, Founding Partner and Chief Editor of Internet Forum “TeheranAvenue”, Tehran.
• Jahangir Selimkhanov, Director, Open Society Institute Culture and Arts Program, Baku.
• Mikhail Gnedovsky, Director, Cultural Policy Institute, Moscow.
• Ayhan Kaya, Professor, Department Head of Political Science and International Relations, Director of European Union Institute, Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul.
• Osman Kavala, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Anadolu Kültür, Istanbul.
• Görgün Taner, General Director, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), Istanbul.
• Gül Pulhan, Professor, Archeology and Art History Department, Koç University, Istanbul.
• Gürcan Türkoğlu, Ambassador, Turkey UNESCO Permanent Delegate, UNESCO, Paris.
• İskender Pala, Professor, Istanbul Kültür University, Istanbul.
• Hayri Çulhacı, Board of Directors Member, Akbank, Istanbul.
• Anna Turay, Communications Consultant, Founding Partner of Group 7, Istanbul.
• Mahmut Evkuran, General Manager, General Directorate of Research and Training, T. R. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ankara.
• Selim Yenel, Deputy Undersecretary, T.R. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ankara.
Cultural Policy and Management Research at BİLGİ
Process Leading to KPY
Prior to officially starting its activities in 2010 with the name Cultural Policy and Management Research Center (KPY), projects were being implemented and events were being organized under the roof of Istanbul Bilgi University with respect to the practice of cultural policy and management. The project entitled “Developing Local Cultural Policies in Turkey” carried out with the support of the European Cultural Foundation (ECF – Amsterdam) in 2006 and the project entitled ‘Building Capacities for Local Cultural Policy Transformation in Turkey’ financed by the Social Transformation Program (MATRA) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with Anadolu Kültür (Istanbul), European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam) and Boekmanstichting (Amsterdam) are important building blocks during KPY's foundation as a cultural policy and management research center. During KPY’s foundation process, numerous studies and projects have been conducted under the auspices of Istanbul Bilgi University. You may find some of these projects below.
Membership in National and International Networks
- Europa Nostra – Turkey
- AICA Turkey
- UNESCO Cultural Diversity Commission Turkey
- ENCATC - European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres
- UNESCO CultureLink – Network for Research and Cooperation in Cultural Development
- IFACCA- Internation Federation of Art Councils and Agencies
- EU Turkey Culture Program Turkey Cultural Contact Point