Her goal is to drive systemic change.

he Aydın Doğan Foundation invests in education, youth, gender equality, and social development to help build a more equitable society. As its newly appointed CEO, Senem Akyollu Başyurt RC 88 aims to strengthen this mission by positioning the Foundation as an ecosystem builder that brings together civil society, academia, business, and the public sector around shared solutions. For Başyurt, lasting impact requires moving beyond individual projects and pursuing systemic change through collaboration, patience, and evidence-based decision-making.

Over the course of her professional career, Başyurt became increasingly interested in applying her skills to social challenges. This led her to the NGO sector, where she found a meaningful intersection between strategy and purpose. “The best social impact work,” she says, “requires the discipline, strategic thinking, and accountability of the business world, combined with the mission-driven focus of civil society.”

For those interested in contributing to the social sector, Başyurt offers three pieces of advice: start before the perfect opportunity appears by volunteering, mentoring, or sharing professional expertise; approach communities with humility and curiosity, listening before proposing solutions; and commit for the long term, recognizing that meaningful social progress takes time.

As a boarding student, Başyurt experienced RC as a community that fostered independence, responsibility, empathy, and lifelong friendships. She sees a direct connection between those experiences and her later commitment to community-building and social impact.

After authoring a number of non-fiction books, Cem Kozlu has finally written his first novel, Sandima Tableti  (The Sandima Tablet, Remzi Kitabevi). Kozlu says that he wanted to try his hand at fiction because he hoped to entertain his readers while also exploring some of his ideas about history:

“I write because writing requires reading and research, and those activities satisfy my curiosity. But above all, I write because I enjoy it. I enjoy playing with syllables, words, sentences, paragraphs, and sections. You plan them, move them around, cut things out, and then add others until you feel you have done your best.”

To avoid young readers in the RC community, Kozlu recommends his book  Liderin Takım Çantası  (The Toolkit of a Leader, Remzi Kitabevi), which aims to share practical approaches to self-management and leadership with young people, as well as Sandima Tableti, which he describes as entertaining summer reading.

Kozlu remembers his years at RC fondly:

“My writing career started at our newspaper,  The Bosphorus. I also acquired my first official title there as president of the Model Airplane Club, which we establish thanks to the encouraging and empowering approach of the late RA principal, Cornelius Bull. The friendships forged over eight memorable years have endured and flourished throughout a lifetime, becoming the most important and lasting legacy of my years at Robert Academy.”

Ayşe Kulin’s latest work,  Aylardan Kasım, Günlerden Perşembe  (The Month is November, the Day is Thursday, Everest Yayınları), takes a deeply personal approach to Türkiye’s founding leader. A piece of biographical fiction, the book attempts to shift the focus away from the well-known public persona of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to explore his private, inner world. Kulin blends her empathetic prose with historical research to create a multi-faceted portrayal: “I combined the love of Atatürk in my heart with the knowledge I accumulated through reading so many sources about him. I wanted my readers to encounter the inner life of a man who has been a friend, lover, husband, divorcee, and ultimately, a sick and lonely man—not just Atatürk the Good Soldier and Founding Father.”

This nuanced perspective on leadership and humanity reflects Kulin’s own intellectual foundation. Addressing the RC graduating class in 2012, she had fondly recalled the core values she gained from her alma mater: “We blended the selfconfidence of the West with the inner discipline of the East, and we gained insight. A self-confidence that doesn’t overwhelm others, an awareness devoid of arrogance!” It is precisely this balanced insight and lack of arrogance that Kulin now brings to her literary portrait of Atatürk, seeing beyond the myth to honor the man.

Pelin Toğrul ‘s solo exhibition Doğa, Doku, Dokunuş (Nature, Texture, Touch) took place between February 28 to March 22, 2026 at ArtisArt Gallery.

Built through the interplay of acrylic and decorative plaster, the works foreground texture as both medium and message. Surfaces are not simply seen but imagined as felt—drawing attention to the depth beneath what first appears flat. In this sense, the exhibition becomes a study of perception: how we engage with art not only through sight, but through memory, sensation, and instinct.

At the heart of the show lies a dialogue between nature and human intervention. Contrasts such as rough and smooth, rigid and soft echo the rhythms found in the natural world, while the artist’s hand introduces intention, control, and interpretation. Through this tension, Toğrul constructs a visual language that bridges organic processes with crafted form.

Material exploration plays a central role. Alongside acrylic and plaster, textile elements and occasional natural components are incorporated into the works, reflecting a layered and, at times, sustainable approach to production. These choices reinforce the exhibition’s emphasis on depth—both physical and conceptual—where each layer contributes to a cumulative sensory experience.

Ultimately, Doğa, Doku, Dokunuş positions texture as a conduit between the external world and internal perception. It reflects on how humans absorb inspiration from nature and transform it through touch, creating new forms of expression that are at once grounded and interpretive.

Canan Özgür, an award-winning opera singer and Associate Professor at Ankara Music and Fine Arts University, will take part in an Erasmus+ teaching mobility in Spain, bringing Turkish vocal repertoire to an international academic setting.

Hosted by Conservatorio Superior de Música Rafael Orozco, the program will take place between April 21–23, 2026, in Córdoba, as part of the Erasmus+ collaboration between the conservatory and Ankara Music and Fine Arts University. Within this framework, Özgür will work with voice students in the Andalusia region, focusing on interpretation and performance.

At the heart of this exchange is a repertoire that carries cultural depth and musical nuance. Introducing works by prominent Turkish composers such as Muammer Sun and Turgay Erdener, Özgür’s teaching aims to create a dialogue between traditions—allowing Spanish students to engage with the tonal language, phrasing, and emotional landscape of Turkish vocal music.

By carrying songs across borders, Özgür contributes to a growing space where music becomes a common language—one that transcends geography while remaining deeply rooted in its origins. Through this residency, Turkish compositions will find new voices in Córdoba, shaped by a different cultural context yet connected through the universality of sound and interpretation.

Burcu Arkut Acun debuted her first book, Ters Ayna (Reverse Mirror, Ayrıkotu Yayınları), a contemplative work that brings together her background in architecture and design with inner awareness and personal reflection. Ters Ayna emerges from an ongoing exploration of the relationship one builds with oneself—and how that relationship quietly shapes the way the world is experienced.

Rather than offering direct answers, the book unfolds as a series of reflections that invite the reader inward. It lingers on questions of visibility and perception—what it means to be seen versus to be visible—while gently probing ideas of waiting and deserving, and whether belonging is tied to a place or a state of being. Through the recurring metaphor of the mirror, each chapter creates space for the reader to encounter their own inner voice.

Written in a calm yet unfiltered tone, Ters Ayna encourages a slower pace: to pause, to notice, and to remember. It shifts the focus from fixing to recognizing, from becoming someone else to returning to oneself. In doing so, it offers a quiet but resonant invitation—suggesting that much of what is sought externally may already exist within.

Fiba Group Sustainability Director Yasemin Sırali was recognized by Fast Company in March 2026 as one of the sustainability leaders creating a significant impact in Türkiye. This recognition follows an assessment of the Turkish sustainability landscape by a sizable jury composed of academics, global experts, and business leaders.

Sırali stated that the recognition brought her tremendous joy: “It reflects Fiba Group leadership’s commitment to continuous progress in our environmental and societal impact—and the exceptional team making it happen every day.”