The document discusses the tension between locality and globalization in Istanbul. As Istanbul experiences rapid globalization, its cultural identity and local values from its past are at risk of being lost. However, globalization does not necessarily require the disappearance of local differences. The challenge is how to leverage Istanbul's position at the intersection of global and local influences to create dialogue between citizens and value both local culture and contemporary trends.

1. (IST) Citizen Platform
An interactive citizen Platform for Istanbul around
artistic and cultural production and tracking of
urban life
Relatore: Francesco ZURLO
Corelatore: Daniela TERRILE
by Deniz ORCUN
In collaboration with:
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV)
Politecnico di Milano
Facolta di Design
Corso di Laurea Specialistica Nel Disegno
Industriale
AA. 2010-2011
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2. Thank you...
I wrote my thesis “on the road” between
Brussels, Milan and most of all Istanbul.
I have met numerous people on the way
who offered their help, interests and avail-
ibility but among those especially I would
like to thank my professor Francesco Zurlo
for his help and openness and Daniela
Terrile for her sincere support and infi-
nite energy. I can’t thank enough my dear
friends, Daniel Metcalfe, for his precious
inputs and his wisdom and with Rona to let
me in their beautiful family, my dear Deniz
for her inspiration and for always making
me feel at home whenever i am near her.
And finally my two families the Mukaddes,
Alp Orcun and Levent, Esen, Asli Ricakci
whose presence i feel wherever i go, and
their endless support always with me.
I can’t thank you enough...
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3. Index:
1 Abstract: An Iteractive Citizen Platform For Istanbul 9
Introduzione in Italiano 10
2 Locality vs. Globalization in Istanbul? 17
Absence of cultural policy as a “state policy” 18
Mapping as a soft form of Activism in Istanbul 21
New roles in the cultural life of Istanbul 28
3 PARTICIPATIVE WAY OF WORKING 35
Definition of Public Participation Models in European Politics: 40
The Code of Good Practice
4 MAPPING AS EMPOWERMENT OF THE CITIZENS 47
Smart Communities Through Network Weaving 51
5 Digital Mapping Tools and City Guides Comparitive Study 57
Best Practices 57
6 The Project: (IST) by IKSV Citizen Platform 75
Concept Statement 75
Strategic Action 85
How does the Interface work? 88
Object System 96
Conclusions 98
References 100
Bibliography 101
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4. 1. An interactive citizen
Platform for Istanbul
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5. Istanbul is becoming increasingly colorful in terms of its
rich social, cultural, and commercial activities and increas-
ingly gaining attention of foreign spectators. While world
famous pop stars fill stadiums, activities like opera, ballet
and theatre continue throughout the year. During seasonal
festivals, world famous orchestras, chorale ensembles,
concerts and jazz legends can be found often playing to a
full house. Adding to this picture, the opening of 20 new
museums in the past ten years in Istanbul we can say that
is celebrating a very bright moment in it’s modern history
from the point of view of cultural production. Unfortunately
this is only one side of the story concerning the cultural
production in this metropolis, that has tripled it’s popula-
tion in the last 25 years.
The more alternative art scene is still production of Istanbul and become a
struggling in the absence of favorable tool for communicating and knowledge
policy making and politic and social exchange within the society and with
barriers. In addition to this the city the policy makers.
culture is under great transformation as I have conducted my research together
the new administration has put into ac- with the Istanbul Foundation For Culture
tion a number of invasive urban renova- and Arts taking them as a model institu-
tion projects. tion to orchestrate this complex service
The city is changing fast and as positive solution.
as this change may look at the moment This research is structured throughout
we have no way of knowing how it will three main discussions; the idea of
turn out in the near future because of “localism” in a city like Istanbul that is in
this disproportionate growth. the middle of fast globalizing tenden-
In my thesis I will be searching for a cies yet so attached to it’s past, the role
service design solution that is an ap- of institutions in an “open” world, and
propriate model of cultural platform that digital mapping as an act of empower-
can host an ongoing activity of tracking ment of the citizens.
and documenting of artistic and cultural
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6. Introduzione in Italiano ultimi 25 anni ha triplicato la sua popo- Questa ricerca è strutturata attraverso fonte selettiva di informazioni per ri-
lazione. tre principali discussioni: durre la quantità di input ai quali sono
Una piattaforma interattiva La scena artistica più alternativa è an- - l’idea di “localismo” in una città come esposti quotidianamente.
cora alle prese con l’assenza di decisio- Istanbul che seppur sia ancora così Il servizio, ospitata dal IKSV, la ONG
per la città di Istanbul che
ni politiche favorevoli e con ostacoli di radicata al suo passato, si trova oggi leader del settore in Istanbul che utiliz-
veicola (visualizza, comuni-
natura politica e sociale. Oltre a questo nel mezzo di dinamiche e tendenze che zando la sua rete esistente gia estesa
ca) la produzione artistica e
la cultura della città è in fase di grande volgono ad una rapida globalizzazione; e il know-how acquisita nel campo di
culturale della stessa e (ne) trasformazione, così come la nuova -il ruolo delle istituzioni in un mondo “ap- arte da quasi 40 anni di esperienza di
monitora la vita urbana (quo- amministrazione che ha messo in atto erto” e la mappatura digitale come atto organizzazione e promozione di mani-
tidiana) dei suoi cittadini. una serie di progetti di rinnovamento di responsabilizzazione dei cittadini. festazioni culturali e collaborazioni con
urbano invasivo. istituti esteri.
Istanbul sta divenendo sempre più una La città sta cambiando velocemente! Descrizione della proposta di Il database (IST), come punto di
città colorata, in materia di attività Ma così come positivo può sembrare progetto: partenza, comunica gli eventi che pas-
sociali, culturali e commerciali, e sem- ora questo cambiamento, in questo (IST) City Platform by IKSV sano attraverso un accurato filtro della
pre più si sta guadagnando l’attenzione momento non abbiamo modo di sapere fondazione in carica definiti in risposte
degli spettatori stranieri. come andrà a finire in un prossimo fu- La mia proposta di progetto è una alla interazione con I loro utenti. Questo
Mentre le pop star di fama mondiale turo a causa di questa crescita spropor- piattaforma che promuove la parteci- è solo un primo livello per garantire la
riempiono gli stadi, le attività quali zionata (del suo tessuto urbano). pazione immersive delle persone nella qualità del servizio.
l’opera, la danza e il teatro proseguono Nella mia tesi ricercherò una soluzione promozione della produzione e mani- Oltre alla selezione di raccomandazioni
per tutto l’arco dell’anno. Durante i progettuale di servizio che possa es- festazione artistica di Istanbul, usando di IKSV, un sistema di valutazione è pre-
festival stagionali poi, orchestre di fama sere un appropriato modello di piatta- la mappatura come strumento primario. visto (fornito agli utenti) per gli utenti e
mondiale, ensemble corali, concerti e forma culturale, che possa ospitare una Si basa sulla fondazione di una mappa contribuirà a migliorare ed aggiustare
leggende del jazz si trovano ovunque continua attività di monitoraggio e doc- interattiva delle manifestazioni culturali costantemente il processo di selezione
disseminati per la metropoli e fanno il umentazione della produzione artistica di Istanbul e sostenendo i membri della IKSV.
tutto esaurito. e culturale di Istanbul e diventare così comunità nel contribuire ad un’azione Gli utenti al primo piano sono forniti da
In aggiunta a questo quadro, vi è uno strumento per la comunicazione di scambio di conoscenze attraverso la un’interfaccia di guida alle manifestazi-
l’apertura di 20 nuovi musei negli ultimi e lo scambio di conoscenze all’interno mappatura e la selezione degli eventi in oni culturali della cita, forniti di un facile
dieci anni. Possiamo dire infatti che, dal della società e con i responsabili politici. primo piano. set di filtri personalizzati per aiutarli a
punto di vista della sua produzione cul- Ho condotto la mia ricerca insieme alla Istanbul, proporzionalmente alla sua raggiungere, in modo più veloce e pre-
turale, Istanbul sta vivendo un momento Istanbul Foundation For Culture and enorme estensione territoriale, ospita ciso possibile, gli eventi ai quali potreb-
molto brillante della sua storia moderna. Arts, prendendola come modello di un gran numero di eventi ogni anno. bero essere interessati a partecipare.
Purtroppo questa è solo una parte della istituto esempio per orchestrare as- Considerando l’infinita varietà di sog- Basata su questa semplice interfaccia
storia relativa alla produzione culturale sieme questa soluzione di servizio così getti/temi e di tipologie di eventi, gli di “event map” é la “City Platform” dove
in questa metropoli; metropoli che negli complessa. utenti spesso hanno bisogno di una gli uttenti attraverso un’interfaccia di
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7. mappatura aggiungeranno contenuti, e come un aiuto a creare punti di inizio naliera, permettendo di contribuire e di
percorsi fatti e esplorazioni esperienzati. e discussioni.. La piattaforma fonde in aggiungere diversi livelli di informazione
Piattaforma utilizza uno strumento di un’unico spazio i tre database principali, per facilitare la selezione e la fruizione
mappatura aperta (libera-partecipata). - IBB Istanbul municipality map (IBB): dei contenuti della mappa stessa. Lo
Questo strumento permetterà di con- È un’applicazione (di servizio) aperta, scambio di punti di vista e conoscenze
figurare (particolareggiare e personaliz- per la mappatura specifica di Istan- specifici su Istanbul attraverso la car-
zare) speciali percorsi tematici preparati bul, costruita dal Comune di Istanbul tografia aiutera a rendere piu visibili e
dalli utenti e la loro condivisione. Esso in occasione del Istanbul European tracciabili I trasformazioni nel tempo in
permetterà agli utenti o ai gruppi di Capital of Culture 2010. Utilizzo di tale questa citta.
utenti, individualmente o collettiva- strumento funzionera anche come un
mente, di creare percorsi che cambiano patto di partnership con la municipalitá
la prospettiva delle iniziative o sem- e li coinvolgera in modo piú diretto nella
plicemente di offrire nuovi punti di vista piattaforma.
della (e sulla) città. - Becoming Istanbul Visual Encyclo-
I risultati di questa attività saranno pedia (Garanti Pub.): É un progetto di
disponibili per tutti, per vedere, consul- ricerca sulle dinamiche della cittá di
tare, utilizzare e intervenire sugli stessi, Istanbul oltre I mainstream idee proto-
come fossero parte di un Inventario tipate, che ha avuto come risultato una
(della vita della città) di Istanbul; inven- mostra e vari libri.
tario utile per i decisori e i ricercatori - l’inventario IKSV della cultura di
e come pratica guida di Istanbul per i Istanbul (IKSV): Un’iniziativa di IKSV che
residenti e i turisti. Ogni mappa (IST) rendera pubblico il contenuto del suo
è una nuova (fresca) prospettiva sulle archivio dei quaranta anni di esperienza
esperienze quotidiane che generano la relative alla produzione e promozione
vita della città. della cultura ed arte.
Regolarmente IKSV chiedera di lasciare
u contributo nel database, a membri In una città come Istanbul infatti, così
della comunitá che sono personaggi grande e frammentata, con un com-
noti al pubblic o che si stanno specializ- plicato sistema di trasporto, e dove la
zando su argomenti connessi a Istanbul. programmazione è astratta e il tempo
o semplicemente conoscitori di Istanbul. così relativo, un’interfaccia cartografica
Questi percorsi tracciati e raccontati da di questo tipo, al livello pragmatico, tipo
questi ‘guest mapper’ verranno pubbli- offre l’aiuto necessario per superare la
cati regolarmente per creare un ritmo difficoltà della programmazione gior
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8. 2. Locality vs. Globalization
in Istanbul?
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9. The functions of the behind it’s industrialist character, will
cities are constantly shift more and more towards initiatives
related to creativity, like in majority
transformed according to
of other big cities around the world.
their location in the world
Cultural heritage services and cultural
and these functions add industries are the foundations of this
physical, cultural, social new economy.
new meanings to the cities.
Sometimes the districts can
When it comes to talk about
turn into different forms in
a city on the crossroads of
order to adapt themselves
the fast globalist tendencies
to the new functions insisted
like Istanbul, which still
by the city.
strongly possesses values
Globalization is not necessarily the
from its past, conflicts and
messenger of the disappearance of
local differences. Actually it would
confusion would surely be
not be wrong to state more just the an inevitable experience,
opposite1. By underlining the place and happening in this city.
what’s local and different, globalization The question is; can we take advantage
helps to reconstruct these meanings of this climate to actually create
once again in another sense . The dialogue between the citizens and
global and the local; the old and the value local culture as well as the
new; the living and the rotten; the contemporary tendencies?
changing and the stable are all two
Problems in this area include:
dialectic inevitable, the best thing to do
is to try to solve the ‘moment’ and the > Istanbul has increased it’s population
‘place’ we are living in, the city Istanbul. from 2 millions in 1960’s to an estimate
17 million in 2010. During this drastic
Istanbul, in the future strategies of
expansion people and most of all the
central and local administrations is
new citizens of Istanbul immigrated
envisioned as a city of finance, services,
to Istanbul from less developed cities
and as a congress and culture tourism
and villages in Turkey were left to live
capital. It is for-seen that the monetary
with the minimum essential for survival
capital of this city, that is leaving
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10. and culture was not a primary concern to promote tourism in Istanbul, the was funded culture in Turkey was break the ice with it’s neighbors and
during the development of the cities effort to engage locals is not enough. being transformed with a series of to look at them more closely. However
new suburbs. > Trend of perceiving places as efforts that can ultimately be defined it hasn’t been easy to delete the deep
> Today, Istanbul is becoming rapidly products (typical municipality approach as “turkification”, modernization or influence of an 80year period of cultural
and increasingly rich in terms of in Istanbul) under the concept of westernization. The most important purification and sterility.
its social, cultural, and commercial “branding” is damaging severely the sign of this transformation was the The effort is still vivid to think in deep
activities. This leads to new districts natural fabric of the city. The idea that acceptance of the Latin alphabet in and formulating common questions
of culture, changing the present design is relevant to the public space 1928 which set an invisible barrier based on available data, and to form a
landscape of Istanbul creating new only in this process of concealing local between the present and a very long platform of future actions that can have
conflicts, putting gentrification in the dynamics with marketable slogans is a past. Secondly, the new Republic an influence on policy making.
agenda. product of this approach. entered an intense process of
To this picture we can add the state of
friendship with the newly formed young
> Although urban life and its actors > Despite the liveliness of the scene and policy making in arts and culture. In the
states of the Balkans in the west, the
have become supremely pluralized, the collaborations of different levels there Western countries, the state supports
Soviet Union in the north and the Middle
stereotypes, discriminating discourses isn’t any strong networks of cultural arts and culture either directly or from
East countries.
and cliché thought patterns referred operators. a distance, developing the necessary
to when speaking about Istanbul has The Second World War however tools of facilitation and incentives,
> Turkey is amongst the countries for
not disappeared. Those who speak changed everything and the American and does not play a direct role in the
highest tourism income in the world,
about Istanbul both inside and outside era had begun. Turkey had chosen to ‘artistic practice’. It stops at drawing a
but culture in this geography still needs
Turkey can’t help but use a serious of be on the side of this ne global power. general policy frame. The situation in
to be promoted first to be grasped
stereotyped concepts, for instance, This caused a long lasting lack of trust Turkey however is almost the opposite.
locally, to sustainably be communicated
Istanbul is still “the place where the between turkey and it’s neighbors State funding for the arts and culture
globally and to be able to get a
East and West meets,” or “a model of leaving the country isolated from it’s is constantly reduced but the state still
distance from stereotyped images.
cultural and religious dialogue.” Still, geography. In the same period of doesn’t hold back from interfering in
Tourists wander in the city thinking they early 1950’s, the first weak signs of the practice to a certain extent. We can say
have come to an Eastern oriental city. Absence of cultural policy as a formation of an art market, the artists’ that the absence of policy in this field
Still those who visualize Eastern images “state policy” 2 finding an independent and different works as a “policy by default”.
for popular culture generalize and form of expression and privatization of
It is worth mentioning one specific
constantly reproduce the domes and culture took place in the country.
Before outlining the main moment in history that marked the
minarets of Istanbul. Then, the world changed fast, and a
characteristics of the project I would hostile divide between officers and
> The fascination with tourist-related lot, within a short period of time with artists, the military coup in 1980. After
like to give a short history of the
“supermarket type of localism”. (Manzini, the Berlin wall coming down and the this separation state and municipal
relationship between culture and police
2005) Soviet Union dissolving. After these owned museums remained focused on
making in Turkey.
developments Turkey has started to the artistic patrimony and artifacts of
> Although there are numerous attempts In the early 1920’s when the republic
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11. the past, while means for encouraging finding a chance for documentation. Mapping as a soft form of forms of human behavior. Locality is
artistic exploration and development Activism in Istanbul not exactly defined as “community”
went underground. but as an experience, or practices
of communities, in the urban sphere.
Only after 2000 a new approach
Locality is an act, an event that
Rudiger Korff5 takes this a little further
emerged. Wealthy families, industrial
combines spatial network with political
by saying “ a locality must be seen as a
concerns and financial institutions
and social values. The joint phenomena
response to, and attempt to cope with,
took up the role of Maecenas to the
of globalization and networking have
the metropolitan environment and the
arts making their private collections
given rise once again to the local
globalization process in particular. It is
the cores of newly built, prestigious
dimension and it’s representation.3
not a geographic but a social category.
museums and opening art galleries,
Pelin Tan4 in her essay argues how
sometimes in conjunction with concert In the soft forms of activism in
the concept of locality doesn’t refer
venues or their own publishing houses / the context of projects that create
any more to a homogeneous cultural
bookstores most of which on Istanbul’s collectivities on the micro level, as
geography. Nor does “local” simply refer
revitalized grand boulevard Istiklal discussed by Toni Negri, Constantin
to a place especially within the context
Caddesi. Petcou, Doina Petrescu and Anna
of an urban sphere, local becomes
Querrien6, the “soft” implies that the
As great as this seems on the surface Fig.1 an act In itself, which takes place in a
political can exist outside of the bio-
it masked some problematic issues. Istanbul Map Project context defined by the politics of space,
by the Spanish artist political diagram the latter being “the
These new museums of Istanbul
Anna Sala economic transformation, media, and
space in which the organization of
tend to operate as much in a mode
of competition as of thoughtful
cooperation. Few, if any, chose to hold
on to a specific focus, subject, matter,
or tone but instead try to outdo one
another through extravagance. They
almost always chose to spend great
sums to realize big exhibitions of artists
long gone instead of supporting new
and upcoming ones.
As a result, young artists seek
alternative ways of interacting, working
and exhibitions but such attempts are
usually fragile and dissolve due to the
volatility of the creative process without
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12. Fig.2
Emotional Map Paris
organized life (social, political) in all Christian Nold
its dimensions is controlled, captured
and exploited.” In this context art and
culture practices may play an important
role not by affirming notions of social
healing or representing social function,
but by collaborating with neighborhood
initiatives to open up spaces for new
realities. Yet another important role can
be given to mapping.
An intervention into the process of
urban transformation that is an example
of critic practice is the Istanbul Map
Project (see Fig.1) by the Spanish
artist Anna Sala, who works on critical
cartographies about the privatization
of urban space. Sala’s Map present’s
the situation of neighborhoods in
several urban parts of Istanbul. It
shows clearly the urban projects of
the Greater Municipality of Istanbul
that aim to evict residents from their
neighborhoods to transform entire
districts. The maps reveal current urban
conditions and warning of the future
problems threatening the general
population. Creating an environment,
a platform for practices from different
fields that allow artists and residents
focusing on specific issues to intervene
in the ongoing process of urban
transformation or urban privatization
is an effective way not only to expand
artistic practices, but also to act with
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13. Fig.3
collective responsibility. screens or our GPS. With Google Earth, Emotional Map Paris
Google Maps, Mappy and the other Christian Nold
Cartography and power are closely
geo-portals, the whole world is offered
related: Who controls the map controls
on our computer screens in just a few
the territory, and this is true at several
clicks, free from any constraints with
levels. The person who consults it,
regard to scale and paper. Still, the
insofar as he knows how to interpret it,
concept of urban living in general and
gains the ability to identify his position
public space in particular has been
in space. The person who creates
(and still is) determined for the most
it – who is situated one step above –
part by official maps, statistics and
proposes (or imposes) his vision of the
administrative limits, without taking
territory, as he perceives it or as he
into account other visions of the city,
projects it. The person who possesses
particularly those of everyone who lives
it, finally, decides how to distribute it
there on a daily basis.
and consequently decides to grant
or deny others the power he has For more than three years, a group of
concerning the territory7. In fact, a map people in Brussels has been working
is hardly a harmless tool: figurative as on the project Towards a Subjective
well as projective, simulation of space Collective Cartography (see Fig. 2). This
as much as a space for simulation – it is an effort to see mapmaking – maps
is found at the very source of military themselves, as well as the process for
strategies, mercantile capitalism, drafting them and the data associated
territorial divisions, and in the particular with them – as a common good, in
case of towns, by and large it has terms of access to them (universal,
determined what is to be drawn and rather than restricted), regulation
measured, and consequently, at the end (permissive, rather than restrictive), and
of the day, what is to be built or at least ownership (public rather than private).
planned. Cartography, formerly reserved This desire to defend the right of the
strictly to a minority, is now opening community to consult, create, publish
up to a broad range of users. With our and exchange maps, as well as to have
greater mobility, as neo-nomads in a access to cartographic data, is both
global world, we use them and find poetic and political. Poetic because
them everywhere in public transport, it responds to the inevitable share
tour guides, streets, shopping malls and, of subjectivity in an approach to the
still more particularly, on our computer territory and considers that multiple
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14. cartographic visions are as many collective projects.
possible metaphors of the world we live Another very interesting use of
in. mapping is explored by Christian Nold8
Political, because it gives users , Emotional Cartography (see Fig.3),
the power to think individually or that explores the relation of body and
collectively about the territory and the city through Bio Mapping projects,
perhaps to influence its future. In the investigating the implications of
past, urban action could take place creating technologies that can record,
without or even counter to many users visualize and share with each other our
of the city, or occasionally with them, in intimate body-states in reaction to our
a sort of concession won over from the urban experiences. And to
authorities or generously consented explore the political, social and cultural
by them, but things should be very implications of visualizing intimate
different today. In fact, the way people biometric data and
feel about and perceive a city– and
emotional experiences using
a map can be used to represent
technology.
this – should be the keystone of the
democratic decision making process To conclude these series of reflections
concerning the territory in general and on mapping as an act of activism
public space in particular. I would like to give an example
where collective mapping is directly
Given these observations and
connected to projecting and proposing
objectives, the Towards project focuses
future scenarios about public spaces.
on creating two different tools that are
(Fig. 4)
nevertheless complementary: an Atlas
of Brussels on one hand that includes The European district in Brussels
the various maps of the city (imaginary, has seen over twenty years of major
anecdotal, emotional, etc.) and, on the upheavals and restructuring projects. At
other, a cartographic software project the same time it has witnessed a new
– Tresor – that will make it possible to generation of people and buildings:
create maps, consult them, compare estate speculators, satellite offices,
them, adjust the parameters that define shops trying to adapt to the new
them, complete them, publish them or situation.
use them as part of personal or Fig.4 CityMine9, together with the artist and
Map-it European
Quarter 27
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15. esearcher Thomas Laureyssens10 and New roles in the cultural life of and artistic assets of Turkey, by using an institution that organizes five
the committees of neighborhoods, Istanbul11 arts to create an international platform international festivals.
propose a collaborative mapping of communication. The International Istanbul Jazz Festival
exercise of a public space in the district.
From a single “Istanbul Festival” to five was initiated in 1994, the same year
The past 20 years have marked the
They invite the community to ask
major international festivals that the International Istanbul Festival
opening of over twenty museums
themselves the following questions:
changed its name to the International
meeting the international standards. The first International Istanbul
When the institutional planning Istanbul Music Festival. Thus, Istanbul
What these museums have in common Festival, organized in 1973 on the 50th
redraws the city with the bulldozer, Foundation for Culture and Arts became
is that they are all initiated and funded Anniversary of the foundation of the
what happens with the inhabitants of an institution that organizes five
by leading industrialists, finance leaders Turkish Republic, covered a period of
the neighborhood? How do they find international festivals.
of Turkey. We can take a look also at the one and a half months and focused
again their home, and (re)inspire their
major events in the city, the biennale, mainly on classical music. Soon after, On the occasion of its 30th anniversary,
imagination? Is it possible to create
and fashion and design weeks, we it included other artistic fields in its the Istanbul Foundation for Culture
new meeting places and connections
would see the same thing. Among program such as film screenings, and Arts initiated a social responsibility
between neighborhoods?
these industrialist the Eczacibasi Family theatre productions, jazz and ballet project and founded the Istanbul
A low-tech tool to plan, analyze and can be considered to be the first to performances, and art exhibitions held Friends of Culture and Arts Tulip
reconstruct past and future projects by invest in arts supporting the founding of in historic venues. As public interest membership program with the intention
creating open and flexible visualization the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and grew, groups of events organized in of protecting cultural heritage and
of a process in space and time. The first Arts (IKSV). different artistic disciplines gradually fostering the development of arts.
MAP-it European Quarter workshop was evolved into distinct festivals. Continuing today under the name of
held at the CityMine(d) Urban Platform Tulip membership, the program gathers
Presented as a separate section under
Eczacibasi Family and IKSV12
event in November 2010. It resulted art enthusiasts under one roof, and
the name “International Istanbul Film
in a good overview of the problems provides its members a variety of
days” in 1983, the film week transformed
and opportunities of the quarter and Istanbul Foundation for Culture privileges during İKSV-organized events
into the International Istanbul Film
brought up some inspiring ideas. and Arts (İKSV) is a non-profit, non- including the Istanbul Festivals.
Festival in 1989; 1987 marked the
I believe that engaging and acting governmental organization founded beginning of the International Istanbul The same year, İKSV made a decision
within localities (both social and urban), in 1973 by seventeen businessmen Biennial, and in 1989 the International to organize innovative, smaller events
conceiving the artistic object in terms and art enthusiasts who gathered Istanbul Theatre Festival was initiated. in addition to the Istanbul Festivals.
of a critical instrument in a process- under the leadership of Dr. Nejat F. Beginning with Filmekimi (a week of film
The International Istanbul Jazz Festival
based engagement in public space, and Eczacıbaşı, with the aim of organizing screenings in October) in 2002, The
was initiated in 1994, the same year
creating specific representation in order an international arts festival in Istanbul. Foundation continued to add brand
that the International Istanbul Festival
to find ways to disseminate action and The Foundation’s initial goal was to new events to its portfolio. in 2003. In
changed its name to the International
knowledge are the only ways to create offer the finest examples of art from 2006, İKSV assumed the organization
Istanbul Music Festival. Thus, Istanbul
possibilities of counter-culture. around the world, while at the same of the bi-annual Leyla Gencer Voice
Foundation for Culture and Arts became
time promoting the national, cultural 29
28

16. Competition, from its 4th edition onward.
The Foundation has been committed
to bringing together different cultures
and contributing to the creation of a
platform for multicultural dialogue. In
this respect, İKSV organizes a series of
international festivals in major European
cities. This journey began in 2004 with
“Şimdi Now” in Berlin and continued
with “Şimdi Stuttgart” in 2005, “Turkey
Now” in Amsterdam and Rotterdam in
2007 and 2008, Russia in 2008, and
Vienna, Austria in 2009. The “Cultural
Season of Turkey in France” activities
held between 1 July 2009 and 31 March
2010 were also organized by İKSV, in
collaboration with Cultures France.
İKSV has been organizing the Pavilion
of Turkey at the Venice Biennale since
2007.
2009 marked a turning point in İKSV’s
history as the headquarters moved from
its home on the historic İstiklal Street in
Beyoğlu to another historical building,
Deniz Palace, in Şişhane. Together
with its new building, İKSV realized a
long time plan, and launched its own
performance venue, Salon, in which it
does not only organize, but also host
cultural and artistic events.
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17. 3. Participative way
of working
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32

18. It is undisputable that wikily”14 is characterized by greater
we are living in an era of openness, transparency, decentralized
participative approaches to decision-making, and collective action.
collaborative working made (The term working wikily is based on the
easier through the rise of word wiki, a Web site that allows groups
the Internet and low cost of people to collectively create and edit
technology, the spread of the Web site and information on it. The
knowledge and education, best-known use of a wiki is Wikipedia.)
the ethic of participation. What once seemed a marginal activity
became mainstream after President
Barack Obama’s election campaign
We see and use everyday hi tech
combined grassroots organizing with
versions of elementary community
online tools to mobilize more than 13
dynamics realized through the likes of
million supporters and raise nearly $750
Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, EBay
million for his 2008 election15. Indeed,
blogging and pod casting. They are
for anyone serious about social impact,
characterized by the common interest
it’s quickly becoming difficult to imagine
of their users to contribute in the
working not wikily.
creation of content and passionate
Networks, collections of people
amateurs who are looking for a platform
connected to each other through
to express themselves.
relations, aren’t new. We are all parts of
On the other side of the spectrum are
networks; our families, schools, social
the organizations, institutionalized
circles, workplaces. There is a wealth
models. Traditional organizational
of knowledge from social science
approach aims to create professional
research and from decades of on-the-
clusters of special people, in specific
ground experience about what helps
places and the innovation down
the performance of groups and larger
the pipeline o the users. While new
human systems. But it is only now that
organizations, utilizing new technology,
people are realizing that there is an
that thrive on this spirit of mass
alternative.
participation move towards a new
What’s different now is that a wave
model that is between open and
of new technologies allow people to
closed13.
more easily visualize, communicate
This approach described as “working
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34

19. with, and act on existing personal and centralized infrastructure. Perhaps the
STRUCTURE TYPE EXAMPLES professional networks, and to create most vivid example of this new reality
strong connections with new ones. are the emergence of “smart mobs”.
CENTRALIZED >
Nonprofit Many local direct These tools make it possible to connect Large groups of people linked by cell-
service providers with any number of people (irrespective phones, text messages, e-mails or other
organizations without
explicit network of geographic distance), to access a channels who get together suddenly
structure
greater diversity of perspectives, to in a public space to perform some
accelerate the sharing of information, collective action.
and to drastically reduce the costs > Connecting people and ideas is
Membership Membership Clubs
organizations with of participation and coordination.That getting faster and faster.
network component
makes them well suited to facilitating
> Networks are open and transparent:
progress on complex social and
The new social tools are making the
environmental challenges that require
sharing of information routine and
people and organizations to coordinate
Nonprofits with Church making more resources and information
axplicit network their efforts across traditional
available for more people and allow
strategy and boundaries and sectors.
structure people to freely build together. They
As important as these new technologies often borrow from, link to or build on
are, the most important change goes one another.
Coalition or alliance Save Darfur beyond the tools themselves. The real
> Our ability to search expertise
transformation that is taking place
is expanded: The wikies provide
today is the fundamental shift in the
public forums for scientists, activists
way that people think, form groups, and
academics and general public to share
do their work, in part because of the
ideas about the best ways to effectively
widespread accessibility of the tools
solve pressing problems.
< DECENTRALIZED
Networks of networks WiserEarth and the networks they can help to
create. > Effectiveness in mobilizing: While in
Ad hoc Networks Flash mobs institutions longevity is an advantage,
As we are moving through this new era
Facebook networks can disassemble as fast
of new, networked facts of life how is
as they assemble to reform in new
the world beginning to look:
constellations to answer different
> Efforts can be decentralized: In a specific problems.
networked model, new technologies
In his book, “We Think: Why mass
allow people to self organize easily
creativity is the next big thing”, Charles
and quickly without the burden of
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36

20. ORGANIZATION-CENTRIC NETWORK-CENTRIC IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WAYS Leadbeater explains why starting from organizing efforts. But new approaches
MODEL MODEL WE WORK AND CONNECT now the way we organize ourselves in are now allowing community organizers
future will not just be an extension of to view their work through a network
the industrial era.16 A growing band of lens, and to better understand
> Centralized > Decentralized > People and groups use new
tecnologies to self organize organizations in future will resurrect the ties and complex connections
without centralized planning ancient ideas and meld them with between individuals in order to foster
and infrastructure.
new technology. Adaptive and self- healthier communities. Organizers
> Connecting ideas and > The pace of conection is > Ideas can spread and groups
people takes time. fast can form more quickly than organizing communities rely on more are deliberately acting as “network
ever before as the new tools than good communications between weavers”—a term coined by network
allow people to connect with
others instantaneously and neighbors and peers to make sure expert June Holley17 to describe the act
virally. everything works. An overall order of deliberately connecting others in an
> Coordination and > Coordination and > Barriers to collaborative emerges from a mass of localized effort to strengthen ties. Weavers link
collaboration are difficult collaboration are easier effort are low enough that
people can now do “big things decisions only if there are some simple previously disconnected individuals and
for love” or find partners in norms and goals to provide a skeleton groups, surface untapped opportunities
narrow passions.
structure. Given a platform, some for community members to produce
> Closed and proprietary > Open and transparent > Sharing is routine, resources
and knowledge are available rules and the tools any passionate better outcomes, and encourage
to many, and multiple efforts user can become content create. But new relationships and collaborations.
and ideas can build on one
another. the questions to be asked at this In some ways, it’s what community
> Our ability to tap expertise > Our ability to tap expertise > When we look for knowledge, point are on how to keep the balance organizers have always done—only the
and share knowledge is and share knowledge is leadership and expertise, we between open and closed, networked new approaches emphasize a lack of
constrained expanded will increasingly be able to
access it in places that were and controlled systems. For example hierarchy or traditional power structures,
once beyond our reach can we really survive on volunteers or focusing instead on connectivity and
> Effectiveness is equated > Effectiveness is equated > Groups do not need to how do we nee determine the level of social capital.
with longevity with mobilization last; they can come together
and disassemble as need to involvement of institutions in different > Accessing Diverse Perspectives:
achieve goals; people are not cases?
necessarily looking for long Social media tools and the
term membership. There are many different reasons why accompanying network mind-set are
> Organizations are the > Organizations are one way > Organizations will continiue, people use a network approach to expanding our ability to access new
primary way to organize to organize effort but they are no longer the only
effort way to get things done; work achieve social change. Some of which perspectives by tapping into the ideas
can be done without reference are: and expertise of many individuals
to traditional institutions.
through crowdsourcing, rather than
> Weaving Community: Building
relying only on an elite few.
community and strengthening social
capital have long been at the core > Building and Sharing Knowledge:
of neighborhood revitalization and The network mind-set and tools are
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21. changing the way individuals and Definition of Public Participation
organizations develop and share Models in European Politics: The
knowledge and best practices. Code of Good Practice18
Nonprofits that use a federated or
affiliate model have long known the
One of the major concerns of modern
benefits of sharing best practices
democracies is the alienation of citizens
across their networks. Now people
from the political processes. In this
not part of the same organizational
context, as in many others, civil society
structure are learning to do the same
constitutes an important element of the
through communities of practice and
democratic process. It provides citizens
other collective mechanisms.
with an alternative way, alongside
> Mobilizing People | Network The Code of Good Practice underlines accountability from both the NGOs and
those of political parties and lobbies, of
approaches are useful for motivating a series of common principles to act public authorities, with transparency at
channeling different views and securing
people to act and that way mobilizing as foundation for the members to build all stages.
a variety of interests in the decision-
collective action. The new social tools upon.
making process. > Independence: NGOs must be
are easy to use, lower the cost of
In an effort to regulate and spread Civil > Participation: NGOs collect and recognized as free and independent
coordination, and help catalyze public
Participation and with the he principal channel views of their members, user bodies in respect to their aims,
action on a large scale because activity
objective of the Code of Good Practice groups and concerned citizens. This decisions and activities. They have the
can be viral and doesn’t have to be
for Civil Participation is to contribute to input provides crucial value to the right to act independently and advocate
routed through a central authority.
the creation of an enabling environment political decision-making process, positions different from the authorities
One of the best-known examples of
for NGOs in Council of Europe member enhancing the quality, understanding with whom they may otherwise
this is the Iranian election protests
State by defining at European level a set and longer-term applicability of the cooperate.
in 2009 and other so-called “Twitter
of general principles, guidelines, tools policy initiative. A pre-condition for
Revolutions.” And defines a series of cross-cutting
and mechanisms for civil participation this principle is that the processes for tools and mechanisms for civil
> Coordinating Resources and Action participation are open and accessible,
in the political decision-making process. participation
| Social media tools and network based on agreed parameters for
The intent is that the Code of Good
approaches are making it easier for > E-participation: E-tools offer great
Practice will be implemented at local, participation.
activists to coordinate their resources potential for improving democratic
regional and national level. The Code > Trust: An open and democratic society
and action. practice and participation of an
of Good Practice is based on actual is based on honest interaction between organized civil society. They can
experiences from NGOs across Europe actors and sectors. largely contribute to the transparency,
sharing their good practices and valid
> Accountability and transparency: accountability and responsiveness
methods for engaging with public
Acting in the public interest requires of institutions, as well as to the
authorities.
openness, responsibility, clarity and promotion of citizens’ engagement
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22. and to increasing empowerment and advisory bodies (permanent or ad-hoc);
the accessibility and inclusiveness of or NGO alliances/coalitions which pool
the democratic process. In order to resources and develop joint positions.
fully all participants of the decision > Framework documents on cooperation
making should integrate benefit from between NGOs and public authorities:
their potential, e-tools, including the In many European countries framework
authorities at all levels and organized agreements have been developed
civil society. to outline undertakings, roles and
> Capacity-building for participation: responsibilities and procedures for
It is essential to develop the capacity cooperation. These documents lay out
and skills of local, regional and a clear basis for the relationship and
national NGOs so that they may be thereby facilitate ongoing dialogue and
actively involved in policy formulation, mutual understanding between NGOs
project development and service and public authorities. They include
provision. Capacity-building can also bilateral agreements with parliament
include training seminars to improve or government, strategy documents
the understanding of the reciprocal for cooperation and official programs
roles of NGOs and public authorities for cooperation, adopted by public
in this engagement, as well as authorities.
exchange programs to facilitate the The Role of designers: A role that a
understanding of each other’s realities. service designer takes over in this field
> Structures for cooperation between is to understand the phenomenon of
NGOs and public authorities: In order social innovation at the grassroots level
to facilitate the relationship between in various contexts, identify its relation
public authorities and NGOs, a to policy and to design conditions that
number of countries have developed empowers people to use their creativity
coordinating bodies. These include: to ideate, implement and disseminate
government bodies such as a contact the solutions for their needs. As Manzini
person for civil society in each ministry claims, transition towards sustainability
or a central coordination body as a is a social learning process that
single interlocutor; joint structures requires active involvement of social
such as multi-stakeholder committees, constituents.19
work groups, expert councils and other
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23. 4. Mapping as Empowerment
of the Citizens
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44

24. Mapping Matters: From maps as world abandoned the discipline of
truth to maps as critic geography. This discipline was no
longer considered relevant on many
campuses as the field was perceived
The city is a complex construction of
to be either redundant in respect to the
lived experience mediated through
technological advancements associated
representation. The understanding of
with satellite imaging, or so complicit in
the contemporary city as an object
the politics of modern urban planning
of study has renewed the interest
as to be lost.
in questions of representation in
And then, just as the discipline of
the last few decades. Collectively,
geography seemed destined to enter
the design disciplines have found
the dustbin of the history of academic
themselves over the past two decades
history along with other seemingly
engaged in a renewal of interest in
irrelevant fields, geography started
maps and mapping, as one modality
to get interesting again. As part of a
of representation with which urban
broader turn in the humanities and
experience and urban identity is formed.
a reawakening of scholarship in the
Over the last decades the disciplines
design disciplines, many fields found a
aspiring to represent urban form
new interest in spatial studies and the
have moved from positions of relative
representation of power structures.
distance to one another, toward a
As geography was seemingly loosing it’s
convergence of sensibilities with
existence as an academic discipline and
respect to maps and mapping. The
lost as a profession, the representation
map, the tool that once defined the
of spatial, economic, and social orders
geographic knowledge, had by the
became relevant in a range of other
1960’s and 70’s began to stand for the
disciplines. While many geographers
failings of the modernist social project,
had been producing solid academic
the brutality of urban planning, and the
achievements, a few geographers
beginning of environmental crisis. In the
began to cure a seemingly more
wake of these critiques associated with
remote branch of the discipline. Among
the politics of ‘68 and the economics of
them, the cultural geographer Denis
‘73, maps and mapping fell into a period
Cosgrove was particularly effective
of dis reputation, during which time
in renewing the discipline’s relevance
universities across the English language
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25. and role. Cosgrove’s research interests In stark contrast to the increasingly educated in the role of images of their context was deemed to be irrelevant;
evolved from a focus on the meanings scientific paradigm of modernist maps cities as key to the new global economy the world existed independent of the
of landscape in human and cultural that proposed to be scientific, value- and particularly to the economy of observer and maps served only to
geography, especially in Western free, and neutral arbiters of spatial destination tourism. The combination map the world. The cartographer was
Europe since the fifteenth century, to conditions, Cosgrove argued that maps of these conditions means that cities separate from the user and optimal
a broader concern with the role of were culturally relative constructions started to look for ways to differentiate maps could be produced to meet
spatial images and representations that were political. themselves from their peers and are different needs.
in the making and communicating of By shifting geography’s attention much more drawn to using architectural The aims of the cartographer were
knowledge. His work included how toward the construction of values projects, arts installations and cultural normative; to reduce error in the
visual images have been used in history attendant to the simple act of making tourism as economic income. representation and to increase map
to shape geographical imaginations a map, Cosgrove was able to renew Central to these projects is the broader effectiveness through good design.
and in connection between geography the relevance of the field for architects, dissemination of images of the city Research thus sought to improve map
as a formal discipline, imaginative urbanists, land space architects, and as objects of cultural value to a broad designs by carefully controlled scientific
expressions of geographical planners. international audience. experimentation that focused on issues
knowledge and experience in the
Contemporary design culture has been such as how to represent location,
The latter part of the twentieth century
visual arts (including cartography).
greatly influenced by the regaining direction and distance; how to select
saw also, US scholar Arthur Robinson
Within his cultural research, Cosgrove
of geography. Maps and mapping information; how best to symbolize
and his collaborators who tried to re-
differentiated between dominant
have found themselves central to the these data; how to combine these
cast cartography, focusing in particular
cultures and alternative cultures. The
debates of the day. Maps and mapping symbols together; and what kind of
on systematically detailing map design
dominant culture has the most influence
have come to be understood as unique map to publish. The research agenda
principles with the map user in mind.
in shaping a landscape. Most of what
forms of representation through which of cartography was to reduce signal
His aim was to create a science of
you see, he claimed, is likely to be a
designers derive particular disciplinary distortion in the communication of data
cartography that would produce what
product of the dominant culture in
and professional expertise and render to users. Art and beauty had no place in
he named “map effectiveness” – that
a region. However, one is also likely
their work both more political and more this functional cartographic universe.
is, maps that capture and portray
to see evidence of alternative, or
relevant. The active representations of relevant information in a way that the Out of this context in the late 1960s and
subcultures in the landscape. Within the
the city are itself both the product and map-reader can analyze and interpret. 1970s emerged a series of attempts
category of alternative culture Cosgrove
act of design. The work of mapping Robinson suggested that an new to develop and position cartographic
differentiated between residual cultures
has increasingly entered the public approach to mapping grounded in communication models as the dominant
(historic cultures that have disappeared
sphere as artists, community groups, experimental psychology might be the theoretical framework to academic
or are in the process of fading away),
city planners, and art critics come to best way for cartography to gain it’s research. Communication models
emergent cultures (those that are just
read there representations as a lens intellectual respectability. Robinson encouraged researchers to look beyond
now appearing), and excluded cultures
onto the a new world. Simultaneously, adopted a view of the mind as an a functional analysis of map design,
(those that are actively or passively
mayors and media have come to be information-processing device. Social exploring filters that might hinder the
excluded by the dominant culture).
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