, Swe-Turk Alumni Network Turkey With the initiative of a Halmstad University alumni, Rana Babaç, four years ago the Section for Swedish Turkish Development Cooperation at the Consulate General of Sweden in founded the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey. Since then in cooperation with BrandCritique Marketing and Communications agency, we have created two branded events ( SANI Speaker Series and Swedish Popcorn Move Club) both of which are four years old today in addition to involving the community in İstanbul to our cultural promotion events such as Midsummer celebration together with Business Sweden in İstanbul, Lucia celebration and Christmas drinks events. The aim of the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey: 1. Bringing the Swedish alumni together 2. Creating synergies which we hope would lead to mutually beneficial social and business relationships between friends of Sweden 3. Promoting Swedish culture 4. Consequently strengthening the relationship between Turkey and Sweden Today the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey has two active chapters in and Ankara as well as a developing chapter in İzmir. In Rana Babaç s own words "6 years ago as I returned to Turkey, I realized there were vibrant alumni communities managed by every other Consulates but Sweden. I Postal Address: Telephone: E-mail Consulate General: PK 125 +90 (0)212 334 06 00 generalkonsulat.istanbul@gov.se 34433 Beyoglu E-mail Visa Section: ISTANBUL Turkey generalkonsulat.istanbul-visum@gov.se Visitors' address: Fax: E-mail Culture Section: 247 Istiklal Caddesi +90 (0) 212 334 06 28 generalkonsulat.istanbul-kultur@gov.se
Consulate General of Sweden 2(6) reached out to a Swedish friend of mine whom I knew attend the events which took place at the Swedish Consulate in. He kindly introduced me to the Section for Swedish Turkish Development Cooperation which was also responsible for promoting Swedish culture in. At the time Sevil Özmen with Didem Özalp - who still comanages the network with me - kindly supported this endeavor and together we built the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey to the large network of almost 750 people from an initial Swedish Institute list of 200 alumni." Swedish Alumni Network in Numbers Number of Alumni 2013: 200+ Number of Alumni 2017: 750+ Number of Sunny Speaker Series İstanbul Events: 7 Number of Cultural Events in İstanbul: 9 Number of Swedish Pop-Corn Club Events in İstanbul: 17 Number of Student Fairs: 15 Number of Out-of- Events: Ankara (2), İzmir (1) Swedish Alumni Network Events SANİ (Swedish Alumni Network İstanbul) Speaker Series Sweden loves the sun. So do the friends of Sweden in Turkey. Four years ago when we founded the network in İstanbul, we were looking for ways to bring the alumni together, and what was a better way to do it if not through the notable alumni themselves? In the past four years, the Swedish Alumni Network in İstanbul (SANİ) hosted notable alumni, friends of Sweden as well as public figures who shared their stories; stories about how they became who they were, why they do what they do and how Sweden has supported them in their endeavors. We choose our speakers from different backgrounds, industries as well as paying attention to the correspondence between the field and zeitgeist of the country. These events are held in a casual coffee-talks format, where by our guest of honor shares his/her story for about half an hour, answers questions for another thirty minutes followed by refreshments and networking. These were successful events which
Consulate General of Sweden 3(6) started off as 30-40 people attending and today as the interest grew, the attendance increase up to 70-80 people. Some of the SANİ speakers hosted: Sercan Çelebi; Founder and the first president of Oy ve Ötesi - an independent election monitoring organization and Turkey s first and foremost grass-root movement also supported by the Swedish consulate. Çelebi is also one of the Young Global Leader of World Economic Forum. Ali Argün; Venture Capitalist, Founder of Vagus.tv - one of the only medium which was able to report from the epi-center of the biggest social upheal in Turkish history, Gezi Protests. Bültent Kozlu; Vice President of TURKVEN, Turkish partner of Advent International, consulting funds over 5 billion USD in investments. Ahu Özyurt; Chief Writer at CNN Türk in. She also anchors on special events and big stories. Ms. Özyurt also was the Washington Correspondent of CNN Türk and Milliyet Newspaper between 2007-09. She also occasionally blogs for the Huffington Post on issues related to Turkey and the Middle East. Robert Hanna; Swedish MP from the Liberal Party who at the time visited Turkey both for the midsummer celebrations and PRIDE to show his support. Rayka Kumru; A social-sexologist, sexuality educator, consultant and author based in, Turkey. Kumru teaches Sexology and Basics of a Healthy Relationship at Yıldız Teknik University and Kültür University as well as writing for a periodical column for the major national newspaper in Turkey, Hürriyet.
Consulate General of Sweden 4(6) Swedish Popcorn Movie Club Movies are the most advanced forms of story-telling. As stories work their way through borders and cultures, they open windows to different lives and different worlds. In the past three years the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey in organized 17 Swedish Popcorn Movie Club events where stories were shared, tales were told and our culture was promoted through master story-tellers of the Swedish movie industry. The movies we show are supplied by the Swedish Institute who makes these selections in cooperation with the Swedish Film Institute. We try to pick titles that correspond to current affairs or issues that our Foreign Ministry wishes to highlight or emphasize. Some movies are in English however as most of them are in Swedish, we make sure that our screenings are subtitled in Turkish. Cultural Events The regular cultural events which take place at the Swedish Consulate General in are good opportunities to bring alumni together in a more informal way. Our alumni enjoy seeing each other as well as taking a heart-warming tour down the memory lane. Throughout the year the Swedish Consulate General in organizes different events around Lucia, Christmas and Midsummer to all of which we invite the alumni network to. We also try to combine our Alumni events with special days such as the Cinnamon Bun Day and Fettisdagen. Student Events: Fairs: Student fairs are very popular in Turkey and they help out-going students discover about their study-abroad options. In the past two years the Swedish Consulate General in in cooperation with the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey attended over 15 fairs across Turkey and promoted the Swedish higher education institutions. Alumni were present at some of these events to give their insights to prospective students. The Consulate was awarded by the Swedish
Consulate General of Sweden 5(6) Institute for promoting Study-in-Sweden initiative to the highest degree. Pre-Departure Event: The Swedish Consulate General in organizes a "Pre-Departure Event for all outgoing students to Sweden. This event is composed of several parts. At the event Consulate General staff gives essential information about visa procedures as well as information about life in Sweden in general. Our alumni are invited to this event which will give them the opportunity share their experience about the Swedish education system and student life to outgoing students. The Swedish Alumni Network Turkey aims to support out-going students, help them to get to know each-other and be more prepared and more confident about their next couple of years in Sweden. The Swedish alumni are our good-will ambassadors. The Swedish Alumni Network in Turkey Expansion & Spin-offs Ankara Two years ago, with the recruitment of a Trade Officer in Ankara, the Swedish Embassy also joined the initiative by undertaking the creation of a website and organizing a kick-off event. This year, the Ankara chapter became more active and formed a team to increase the number of events and communication between the alumni in the region. Izmir In April of 2017, the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey visited İzmir and hosted an alumni brunch with the attendance of Yiğit Tatış, Honorary Consul of Sweden in İzmir. In addition to the alumni, Swedish citizens living in the area, businessmen who work with Sweden as well as outgoing students were invited to the event. Although the general purpose was to bring friends and alumni of Sweden together, the Swedish Alumni Network Turkey used the opportunity to explore if alumni could be recruited to make these gatherings regular and spread Swedish cultural values.
Consulate General of Sweden 6(6) Social media Accounts: All our activities are shared through our social media channels. Facebook: Consulate General of Sweden, Instagram: Swedenin Twitter: Swedeninistanbul