International Links and Collaborations

International Links and Collaborations

Açık Radyo syndicates the daily independent news hour DemocracyNow! (in English). The daily world news bulletin of Deutsche Welle (in Turkish) was broadcast for years, but since 2016 DW has ceased broadcasting its news bulletin at Açık Radyo.

Açık Radyo has carried out program exchanges and a collaborative program of research and technological development on world music and the internet with 4 European radio stations: Nova/Paris, Multikulti/Berlin, Blue Danube/Vienna, Radio 3/Warsaw. (The CARO project, February 1998 – February 2000)

An original world music show on Açık Radyo, Dünyayı Dinliyorum (I Listen to the World), has been broadcast by RBB Multikulti Berlin, VDR Funkhaus, Radio Sweden P 6, Europa Köln, and Radio Bremen for years on end and it is currently being syndicated by Multicult 2.0.

International Putumayo World Musicprogram has been syndicated for more than 10 years by Açık Radyo.

“Music of the World”, a program at KPFA Radio from Berkeley California, has been syndicated on Açık Radyo since the 30th broadcast season (2007). In 2011 the program has been renamed by its producer as Music of the World Istanbul and in its new format it is now broadcast directly from Açık Radyo studios.

Furthermore, world music programs produced by 3 to 13 year-old programmers of Radijojo!, the first German non-commercial, non-profit radio station for children, have been aired by Açık Radyo from April 2008 until 2017.

Açık Radyo has also been cooperating with RFI on world music programs. It has pursued a two-year project (Soundshift) in partnership with the Marseille radio station Radio Grenouille. 3 radio documentaries born from that partnership were broadcast in both Istanbul and Marseille in 2010-2011.

Last but not least, in September 2011, within the framework of “KolajIstanbul” (CollageIstanbul) days organized by Gaîté Lyrique, one of the leading contemporary art centers of Paris, Açık Radyo broadcast live for three days (2 hours daily) from Istanbul to Paris, during which live interviews on contemporary art, music, and literature were held with 20 guests.

Velonotte Bicycle Tour: The grand bicycle tour ‘Velonette’ which was in Moscow, Rome, New York, London and St. Petersburg previously, was in Istanbul this time. In the tour on May 4 of 2014, in Istanbul, thousands of bikers occupied various streets between Sirkeci and Ortaköy districts. Açık Radyo was on air during this tour which lasted until about 03.30 in the morning. The cyclists Gülhan Kadim Sertdemir, Mahir Ilgaz, Esra Ertan and Ali Somay participated in the live broadcast via telephone.

This organization was a fruitful effort of collaboration by the Velonette team, The Cyclists Association, and Açık Radyo.

Music Festivals (Organized by Açık Radyo)

Açık Radyo organized (in collaboration with the Positive Organization) the Istanbul Musical Festivities I and II in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Attended by some 10.000 music and art lovers each, these events covered all kinds of music, from Classical to Folklore, from World Music to Jazz, from Arabesque to Salsa, as well as various activities for children, international panels, world premier performances, dance workshops, etc., comprising around 125 activities in total).

Exhibitions

Açık Radyo co-sponsored two photograph exhibitions; the first being “1968 Through the Lens of Magnum” in 1968; and the second, on the millennium, “Portraits of the 20th Century”. Each one of these exhibitions was visited and viewed by around 8,000 individuals.

In the year 2006, Açık Radyo organized a thematic collective exhibition by the title of “NatürMort” (“Still-ed” Life), for the purpose of drawing greater attention to the issue of global climate change. 6 art galleries and 83 artists –including some of Turkey’s leading painters, sculptors and photographers– have contributed to this exhibition and donated the revenues of the sales to Açık Radyo.

In the year 2021, Açık Radyo started to contribute to the 17th IstanbulBiennial with its 26-week Radio Biennial program, which started in May 2021 and continued until October 2022. Açık Radyo became a part of the biennial with broadcasts, installation work Açık Radyo – Here and Now and special events from the open studio it established in one of the biennial spaces: Barın Han.

Contests

The "Open Space" Project:

In the fall of 2005 a group of students from Istanbul Bilgi University carried out a collective graduation project on Açık Radyo. The idea of a creating a youth community within Açık Radyo resulted in the creation of a contest that would enable young people to express themselves via alternative media channels. Thus Açık Radyo had the privilege of organizing the first program contest for university students. It was titled: “Change the world – if only for an hour a week”.

The next year this was followed by a second contest titled “Let’s Play!”. 64 young people from 18 universities from all over Turkey have participated with 47 projects. The winning projects were broadcast on Açık Radyo.

Conferences, Fora and Panels

Between the years 1996 – 2022 Açık Radyo editors and programmers have participated in nearly 700 conferences, gave lectures or took part in numerous panels, workshops, symposia, and fora on broadcasting, independent media, freedom of the press, peace movements, global climate change, globalization, history of music, etc., at various prominent universities of Turkey. (İstanbul University, İstanbul Technical University, Boğazici University, Bahçeşehir University, Çukurova University, Marmara University, Mimar Sinan University, Galatasaray University, Yıldız Technical University, Middle Esat Technical University, Kadir Has University, Koç University, Sabanci University, Kocaeli University, Gazi University, Edirne University, Eskişehir University, Yeditepe University…) Other than the universities various cultural centers, nurseries, primary schools and high schools, and other relevant institutions in Istanbul and other cities were visited upon invitation by these institutions. Most lately, from May 2021 to October 2022, hosted by the 17th Istanbul Biennial, Açık Radyo organized 6 panels at Barın Han with the participation of Açık Radyo's programmers and invited guests. The panels were simultaneously broadcasted live on Açık Radyo's Instagram and YouTube pages

Parties

Over the years more than 60 parties have been collectively organized by Açık Radyo programmers, listeners and personnel, each with a different theme.

Media Coverage (on Açık Radyo)

Açık Radyo and/or its programs, and its activities have been covered by over 8.000 articles, nearly 300 interviews, broadcasts, etc., during the station’s 28 years of existence, averaging one mention per day. Açık Radyo has been the subject-matter of two documentaries (one of them by the world-renowned artist and academic Antoni Muntadas: “On Translation: Açık Radyo (Myths and Stereotypes), and three separate master theses. It has been mentioned in at least 3 novels, 2 feature films and one detective novel. Furthermore, Açık Radyo programs have been quoted as “academic” sources in a number of articles in the mainstream media. Many Açık Radyo programs have also been published in printed form.