In the pursuit of its main target, Cultural Awareness Foundation organizes since 2003 annual series of conferences, seminars and lectures on history, historical heritage, archeology and art history.

The targeted goal of these activities can be summarized as:
  • to inform the participants on the issues of culture, art, art history, archeology and     cultural heritage,
  • to use that information to create their awareness on the society and region in which     they live,
  • to raise consciousness on historical monuments and cultural heritage,
  • to use this information and awareness for voluntary participation to protect and     preserve our common heritage,
  • to use the income of the seminars to finance the Foundations’s activities.

Nearly 2000 people of all ages and professions mainly between the ages of 20 to 55 attended the series of conferences, seminars and lectures.

The seminars offered by senior scholars and professors follow a comparative perspective and an interdisciplinary approach to themes collected under the general title of “Life and Culture”.

To give an example, a theme like:
  • “the development of cities through history” is examined with an approach including     archeology, social sciences, modern architecture.
  • “life in the city” is analyzed with an approach including sociology (religion, tradition     and the like), history.
  • “art in the city” is studied with an approach including art, art history, archeology,     history.

Within this framework, several conferences and seminars have been organized on the contribution of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman civilizations to art, architecture and social life. The seminars also offer an opportunity to the specialist scholars for the sharing of their knowledge on history and culture with non-academic communities.

The monthly conferences that aim to reach larger audiences focus the conservation of our historical and cultural heritage.

Based on the information gathered in these seminars, several activities were organized towards the protection of our cultural heritage, and all have been successfully achieved. Some of these are:
  • Following a conference on Perge excavations, a significant amount of financial     support was raised for the ‘Erect a column: Saving Perge” campaign, which has grown     to be one of the most successful projects of the Foundation.
  • Following the “50 years of Republican Sculpture” seminar, a project proposal is being     prepared for the protection of the neglected sculptures in different places in Istanbul.
  • Following the seminars on “Historical Monuments and Cultural Heritage” the remains of     the Euphemia Church located in the Sultanahmet Square have been cleaned.

Our conferences are open to the general public, where participants can update their recent new knowledge on the basis of different perspectives, and find an opportunity to freely discuss their own opinions and suggestions. The interested parts can contact the Foundation Office at (++ 90 212 347 2425) or e-mail to <info@kulturbilinci.org>