Oya Eczacıbaşı, the President of the Board of Directors of Istanbul Modern, received the Award for Those Adding Value to Turkey from Bahçeşehir University.
Oya Eczacıbaşı, the President of the Board of Directors of Istanbul Modern, has won the Award for Those Adding Value to Turkey, given by Bahçeşehir University for individuals who steer the education and development and make contributions to the economy, art heritage, promotion and popularity of Turkey.
The award ceremony was held at Bahçeşehir University (BAU), and Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Esmer, the President of Board of Directors of the Turkey Values Survey, made the opening speech.
“WE’RE NOT TOO GENEROUS IN APPRECIATING THOSE ADDING VALUE”
Noting that this year’s award is devoted to the areas of art and culture, Prof. Dr. said, “Oya Eczacıbaşı has brought in something new in Turkey. 8 years ago today, she led the opening of first modern art museum of Turkey and has brought the museum to its current advanced level from that day to this.” Complaining about Turkey’s unconcern about science and art, Esmer noted, “In our country, we’re not too generous when it comes to appreciating those who contribute to science, culture and art. As Bahçeşehir University, we want to correct this and for this reason, starting from last year, we wanted to reward individuals who really add value to Turkey in areas of science, technology, culture, art and economy, with gratitude. Today is the second anniversary of the Award for Those Adding Value to Turkey and we want to give it to the President of Board of Directors of Istanbul Modern, Oya Eczacıbaşı, a member of Eczacıbaşı Family, Turkey’s one of the leading families when it comes to art and culture. Turkish culture and art world owes a lot to Oya Eczacıbaşı. I thank her for accepting this award and express my best regards.”
“ECZACIBAŞI FAMILY IS A PIONEER WHEN IT COMES TO CULTURE AND ART”
After Yılmaz Esmer’s speech, Prof. Dr. Şenay Yalçın, the President of Bahçeşehir University, took the floor and said that this annual Award for Those Adding Value to Turkey is a very important award both for Bahçeşehir University and Turkey. “In Turkey, Eczacıbaşı Family is the first family that comes to mind in terms of culture and art. In this context, Oya Eczacıbaşı, a member of Eczacıbaşı Family, is the one with great contributions in making the Istanbul Modern an important culture and art centre of Turkey. I thank her for her great services in Turkey and wish her a continued success”, said Yalçın.
“WE, AS BAU, ARE READY TO CONTRIBUTE”
After Yalçın’s speech, Enver Yücel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of BAU, expressed his happiness for rewarding Oya Eczacıbaşı with this award, which is bestowed to those who care and add value to Turkey. “Eczacıbaşı Family has been interested and took care of art, a hardly recognized but an essential area of Turkey, more than the business world. For many years, this family has been trying to teach and tell our country what art means, tirelessly and persistently. Today in business, the money you got in your accounts does not matter, and the more social responsibility you carry out, the more you get richer. And Eczacıbaşı Family is a leader in this sense”, said Yücel.
“ENVER YÜCEL POINTS OUT THE EDUCATION OF ART”
Enver Yücel noted that Turkey does not attach importance to the education of art as must as it deserves. “Can the lack of art be the source of problems in Turkey today? We are becoming intolerant of each other. Can it be because of deficiency of our schools in education of art? We should think about this. Eczacıbaşı Family has made great efforts to solve this problem for years and created the Istanbul Modern Art Museum as a consequence of such efforts. For a better Istanbul and Turkey, we, as Bahçeşehir University, would like to assist you. I congratulate Oya Eczacıbaşı and wish her long success”, said Yücel.
500 THOUSAND KIDS BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION PROGRAMS
After receiving the award, Oya Eczacıbaşı took the floor. “I’m very happy to receive this award from Bahçeşehir University, on behalf of all my friends who by this time have contributed and added value to the Istanbul Modern. Istanbul Modern is the first art museum of Turkey, which was opened under the leadership of private sector. When opening the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, our purpose was to combine daily life and culture, reach all levels and ages of society and create a multi-dimensional social platform. Adding value and transferring values into the world in an understandable manner was one of our main goals. I think we achieved these”, said Eczacıbaşı.
Eczacıbaşı also expressed that they care about social solidarity and carry out various works to this end. “500 thousand kids have benefited from our education programs by this time. Today, the reason why we feel honoured is that Istanbul Modern Art Museum was recognized as an institution adding value to Turkey, by Bahçeşehir University, a great academic institution. By giving this award, you also increased the motivation of our team working at the Istanbul Modern Art Museum. Lastly, I express my gratitude to the committee for awarding me”, said Eczacıbaşı.
TR
