TEDx VefaWomen

With the main sponsorship of TÜRGEV, TEDxVefaWomen set out this year under the theme “Shine Your Courage” with the aim of sharing the inspiring stories of women academics, artists, and entrepreneurs from all walks of life in Turkey—stories filled with creativity—and to amplify courage and labor. The event took place on December 15, 2019, at the Bağlarbaşı Congress and Cultural Center.

With the main sponsorship of TÜRGEV, TEDxVefaWomen set out this year under the theme “Shine Your Courage” with the aim of sharing the inspiring stories of women academics, artists, and entrepreneurs from all walks of life in Turkey—stories filled with creativity—and to amplify courage and labor. The event took place on December 15, 2019, at the Bağlarbaşı Congress and Cultural Center.

One of the First “TEDxWomen” Events Held in Turkey

TÜRGEV, which aims to contribute to the visibility of women and girls in social life and supports every step taken in this regard, sponsored TEDxVefaWomen, one of the first “Women”-themed TEDx events held in Turkey this year. TEDx is a global platform for sharing experiences and “ideas worth spreading,” open to everyone.

The event, hosted at the Bağlarbaşı Congress and Culture Center, brought together women from across Turkey who have made significant contributions in their respective fields as speakers.

Among the speakers were writer screenwriter storyteller Beyza Akyüz, founder of the Hevsel Bahçesi brand Şehadet Çitil, village teacher Derya Çok, mental health counselor Pınar Kobaş Sıçrar, Afşar Bala’m Women’s Cooperative President Figen Ar, SchoolX Co-founder Ayşe Seyyide Kaptaner, academic Yaylagül Ceran Karataş, composer pianist interior architect Büşra Kayıkçı, Assalam Foundation Co-founder Nazan Yalçınkaya, art historian Başak Burcu Eke, opera singer Funda Güllü, Usturlab General Manager Sümeyye Ceylan, Biolive Company CEO and President of the Turkish Youth Clubs Confederation Duygu Yılmaz, and OÇA Solidarity Network Volunteer Efruze Esra Alptekin.

The common theme running through all the talks was, in line with the event’s main message, to reveal the courage women already possess and to amplify their impactful words and achievements.

“Women Can Be the Heroes of Inspiring Stories”

Inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s words, “We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains,” Chairwoman of the Board Dr. Fatmanur Altun shared her thoughts on the event:

“A significant part of our work focuses on girls. As a foundation dedicated to the education of girls, we wanted to be part of such an event,” she said.

Stating that listening to each other gives all of us courage, Altun also noted:

“We are children of a world experiencing serious problems. Massacres and wars, migrations, refugee crises—we are facing unbelievable global crises. We see that women’s experiences, perspectives, solutions, and stories are often not heard and not given a place in solving these problems. At the same time, we witness strange attitudes that suggest ‘women should stay at home, women should not get involved in these matters.’ But we say: let women come, with the dough still on their hands, and share their stories. Let them tell us about the solutions they have found and share their inspiring stories. Women can offer very different solutions in the face of problems, and they can be the heroes of uniquely inspiring stories. And they can do this while staying in harmony with the fabric of life and nature, without even wiping the dough off their hands. Today’s event brings together many different women and their inspiring success stories.”