Hrant Dink Foundation

The Hrant Dink Foundation is a Turkish civil-society organization established after the 2007 assassination of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist and editor of Agos. The foundation presents its mission as carrying forward Dink’s dreams, struggle, language, and spirit. Its work combines human-rights advocacy, historical research, public education, cultural programming, and initiatives intended to improve relations among Turkey, Armenia, and Europe. A central part of the foundation’s activity is the monitoring of hate speech in Turkey. It also promotes a non-nationalist approach to history, with particular emphasis on oral history and the experiences of communities that have been marginalized or excluded from official narratives. Its research and publishing programs have examined Armenian life in the late Ottoman period and the republican era, the seizure of Armenian foundations, rescue efforts during the Armenian genocide, and the memories of Armenians from different regions of Turkey. The foundation has developed several programs that connect research with public engagement. Its Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme enables Turkish and Armenian professionals to spend time in one another’s countries, with the stated aim of building professional networks and improving bilateral relations. It has also participated in the European Union-funded Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process Programme. Through conferences, exhibitions, books, public discussions, and archival or oral-history projects, the organization seeks to make contested histories more visible and to support dialogue across national and communal boundaries. Among its notable cultural initiatives was the 2010 exhibition Armenian Architects of Istanbul. The foundation also supported the 2012 creation of the I Demand Hate Crime Legislation platform, which brought together Turkish civil-society organizations advocating a stronger legal response to hate crimes. In 2015, it worked with Boğaziçi University, Istanbul Bilgi University, and Sabancı University on the conference A Civilization Destroyed: The Wealth of Non-Muslims in the Late Ottoman Period and the Early Republican Era. Its History and Memory Research Fund has supported research into rescue actions during the genocide, while the Sounds of Silence book series has presented oral histories of Armenians from different parts of Turkey. The organization has remained associated with the memory of Hrant Dink and with the broader struggle for democratic rights and pluralism in Turkey. On 23 April 2019 it opened Hrant Dink’s Site of Memory at its Istanbul headquarters. The foundation has also faced pressure and threats. In 2020, a suspect was arrested in connection with death threats sent to the organization and Rakel Dink. In October 2019, a Turkish court prohibited a foundation conference on the social, cultural, and economic history of Kayseri and the surrounding region without publicly giving a reason. Rakel Dink, Hrant Dink’s widow, is identified as the foundation’s director and has represented the organization publicly, including when accepting the Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention in 2017.

The Hrant Dink Foundation emerged in the aftermath of the January 2007 assassination of Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist and the editor of the bilingual newspaper Agos. Dink had advocated dialogue between Turks and Armenians, a more open discussion of historical violence, and a democratic understanding of citizenship. The foundation was created to continue this work rather than to function as a commercial enterprise or conventional cultural institution. Its stated purpose is to preserve and extend Dink’s intellectual and ethical legacy, described through the continuation of his dreams, struggle, language, and heart. From its early activity, the foundation combined memory work with contemporary advocacy. It monitored hate speech in Turkey and promoted public discussion of discrimination, minority rights, and democratic participation. Its historical approach rejected narrowly nationalist interpretations and emphasized the experiences of non-Muslims and other communities whose histories have often been underrepresented. Oral history became one of its principal methods, allowing researchers to document family memories, local experiences, and forms of Armenian life that are not fully represented in official archives. The foundation’s research and publication program has addressed several connected subjects. The Sounds of Silence series records oral histories of Armenians from different parts of Turkey. Its History and Memory Research Fund has supported investigation into rescue actions during the Armenian genocide. The organization has also sponsored research into the seizure of Armenian foundations during the republican period. In 2015, it joined Boğaziçi University, Istanbul Bilgi University, and Sabancı University in organizing the conference A Civilization Destroyed: The Wealth of Non-Muslims in the Late Ottoman Period and the Early Republican Era. These activities reflect the foundation’s effort to connect scholarship with public understanding and to examine the social and economic consequences of the disappearance or dispossession of non-Muslim communities. International and regional reconciliation is another major area of work. The Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme gives Turkish and Armenian professionals opportunities to visit and work in one another’s countries. The scheme is intended to develop relationships that can survive political tension and to create practical channels for communication. The foundation has also taken part in the European Union-funded Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process Programme, placing its work within broader efforts to improve relations between the two countries and between their civil societies. The organization has used exhibitions and public sites to make historical research accessible beyond academic audiences. In 2010 it helped organize Armenian Architects of Istanbul, an exhibition focused on the Armenian contribution to the city’s architecture. On 23 April 2019, it opened Hrant Dink’s Site of Memory at its Istanbul headquarters. The site functions as a memorial and an educational setting, linking Dink’s personal history to the foundation’s continuing work on dialogue, minority rights, and historical remembrance. The foundation has also encountered restrictions and threats. In October 2019, a Turkish court banned its planned conference on the social, cultural, and economic history of Kayseri and the surrounding region; the court did not give a reason. In 2020, a suspect was arrested in connection with death threats directed at the foundation and Rakel Dink. These incidents illustrate the politically sensitive environment in which the organization operates. Despite those pressures, it has continued to work through research, publications, professional exchanges, conferences, exhibitions, and advocacy. Rakel Dink, Hrant Dink’s widow, is identified as the foundation’s director and has served as one of its most visible representatives. In 2017 she accepted the Chirac Foundation’s Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention, presented by French President Emmanuel Macron.

• 2020

  Arrest following death threats

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  A suspect was arrested over death threats directed at the foundation and Rakel Dink.

• 2019

  Hrant Dink’s Site of Memory opened

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation opened a memorial and educational site at its Istanbul headquarters on 23 April.

• 2019

  Kayseri history conference prohibited

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  A Turkish court banned the foundation’s planned conference on Kayseri’s social, cultural, and economic history without stating a reason.

• 2017

  Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Rakel Dink accepted the Chirac Foundation’s conflict-prevention prize, recognizing the organization’s dialogue and reconciliation work.

• 2015

  Conference on the destruction of non-Muslim wealth

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  In cooperation with three Istanbul universities, the foundation organized a conference examining the wealth and social position of non-Muslims in the late Ottoman and early republican periods.

• 2012

  I Demand Hate Crime Legislation platform

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation supported the establishment of a coalition of Turkish civil-society organizations advocating dedicated hate-crime legislation.

• 2010

  Armenian Architects of Istanbul exhibition

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation helped organize an exhibition highlighting Armenian architects and their role in Istanbul’s architectural and cultural history.

• 2007

  Foundation established after Hrant Dink’s assassination

  [1]Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was established following the assassination of journalist Hrant Dink, with the aim of carrying forward his work on dialogue, democracy, human rights, and Turkish-Armenian relations.

An independent, dialogue-oriented civil-society foundation focused on pluralism, human rights, historical memory, Turkey-Armenia relations, and opposition to hate speech and nationalist exclusion.

• Professional exchange and reconciliation program

  Turkey-Armenia Fellowship Scheme

  A cross-border fellowship program that enables Turkish and Armenian professionals to visit the other country. Its purpose is to build professional relationships, encourage direct contact, and support longer-term improvement in relations between Turkish and Armenian civil societies.

• Research funding

  History and Memory Research Fund

  A research-support initiative focused on historical memory and underdocumented experiences. The fund has supported research into rescue actions during the Armenian genocide and contributes to the foundation’s broader effort to study history from a non-nationalist perspective.

• Oral-history publications

  Sounds of Silence

  A series of books presenting oral histories of Armenians from different regions of Turkey. The series uses personal and community testimony to preserve memories that may be absent from official historical accounts and to make local histories available to a wider public.

• Memorial and educational site · 2019

  Hrant Dink’s Site of Memory

  A memorial and educational space opened at the foundation’s Istanbul headquarters in 2019. It connects the life and work of Hrant Dink with the organization’s continuing programs on dialogue, human rights, historical memory, and reconciliation.

• 2020

  Death threats against the foundation and Rakel Dink

  The foundation and Rakel Dink received death threats, and a suspect was arrested in connection with the threats.

  Source

Read more

• 2012I Demand Hate Crime Legislation

  Turkey

  The foundation supported a platform of Turkish civil-society organizations pressing for legislation specifically addressing hate crimes.

  Outcome. The platform brought together the foundation and dozens of other organizations around a common legislative and public-awareness demand.

  Source
• Turkey-Armenia reconciliation and fellowship work

  Turkey · Armenia · Europe

  The foundation has used professional exchanges and participation in the European Union-funded Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process Programme to encourage contact and cooperation across the Turkish-Armenian border.

  Outcome. Specific aggregate outcomes are not stated in the reference material, but the programs are intended to strengthen civil-society ties and support normalization.

  Source

• 2019

  Open Hrant Dink’s Site of MemoryOther

  Background

  The foundation sought to preserve Hrant Dink’s legacy and connect remembrance with public education and its ongoing human-rights and reconciliation work.

  Action taken

  It opened Hrant Dink’s Site of Memory at its Istanbul headquarters on 23 April 2019.

  Aftermath

  The site became part of the foundation’s memorial, educational, and public-history work.

  Source

• 2019

  Challenge to the prohibition of the Kayseri history conferenceOther

  Background

  The foundation planned a conference on the social, cultural, and economic history of Kayseri and the surrounding region.

  Action taken

  A Turkish court banned the conference; the reference material does not identify the foundation’s subsequent legal or organizational response.

  Aftermath

  The event could not proceed as planned, and no reason for the court’s decision was publicly given.

  Source

1. 1Hrant Dink Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Hrant Dink Foundation official websitehrantdinkodulu.org