B34-Kültürk Festival: Cultural Consequences of Migration to Germany

On the 50th Anniversary of Labor Migration to Germany, the B34-Kültürk Culture Festival Takes Place in Berlin and Istanbul in September and October

Having signed a cooperation agreement in 2009, the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication and the Freie Universität Institute of Media and Cultural Management are undertaking another project with a joint culture festival. Migration, cultural change and cultural interaction will form the main axis of the festival, held on the 50th anniversary of the migration of guest workers from Türkiye to Germany. The festival will focus on the questions of how the migration of workers from Türkiye to Germany, their comings and goings between the two countries and, for some, their eventual permanent return transformed Türkiye's cultural industry and changed cultural and daily life in Germany .

The week-long festival, which will begin on 8 September in Berlin and on 24 October in Istanbul, will open with the premiere of the film Third Voice , made and directed jointly by students of the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication, Department of Cinema and Television, and the Freie Universität Institute of Media and Cultural Management. It will then continue with panels discussing the effects of migration on cinema, popular music, food culture, fashion and daily life, as well as exhibitions, installations and talks. In Istanbul, the festival will take place in the heart of the city, at Bahçeşehir University's Beşiktaş Campus.

(In addition to conducting joint academic studies, the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication and the Freie Universität Media and Cultural Management program aim to carry out cultural collaborations that will strengthen dialogue between the two cultures on a broader scale. Prof. Dr. Haluk Gürgen, Dean of the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication, stated that they would prioritize more radical cultural collaborations as of 2011-2012, and announced that Türkiye's first "Creative Industries Research and Study Center"will be established jointly with Freie Universität Media and Cultural Management. This center aims both to strengthen cooperation between the creative industries and academia in Türkiye and to develop the creative industries of both countries together, in terms of both research and joint productions. The center, which will start its work right after the B-34 Kültürk Festival, will also help Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Communication students present their projects to the international community.

Since 2009, the two universities have been running a two-week intensive academy in Berlin and Istanbul introducing the media and cultural industries.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Haluk Gürgen (Dean, Faculty of Communication) haluk.gurgen@bahcesehir.edu.tr,
Assist. Prof. Dr. Burçe Çelik (Vice Dean, Faculty of Communication) burce.celik@bahcesehir.edu.tr,
Ümran Sever (Faculty Secretary, Faculty of Communication) umran.sever@bahcesehir.edu.tr