Silent University is happy to announce its first Orientation Programme event in the scope of the Istanbul Biennial on 16 September at SAHA Studio. In addition to the orientation space at Müze Gazhane, this on-site gathering will be a unique moment to get to know the Silent University members, hosts, collaborators, coordinators, including the Silent University initiator, Ahmet Öğüt, as well as Fahima Alnablsi, who studied Politics and Economy at the Damascus University in Syria and is the main coordinator of the Silent University in Stockholm; Pelin Tan, Silent University Consultant; Yelta Köm, Silent University Orientation Programme Coordinator; Suha Nabhan and Amal Jibril, co-founders of Migration Jam and Silent University members based in Istanbul, among many others. For this event, Silent University will collaborate with Syrian kitchens in Istanbul.

The Silent University Orientation Programme was conceived as the preliminary step towards a new branch of the platform in Turkey, in collaboration with the active branches in Stockholm, the Ruhr and Hamburg. It comprises a series of online and on-site events on how to act in solidarity with collectives worldwide and transcend the limitations imposed by border politics. The classes were recorded in Germany, Sweden, and Turkey in collaboration with Kunstverein in Hamburg. Accessible online, the lectures are also presented alongside an orientation space to promote discussions on today’s global humanitarian crisis and offer viable solutions.