About Us

Karakutu works to learn lessons from the past. We believe that remembering the past plays an essential role in justice and peace.

As a society, we lack a fair memory of the past. As much as we remember past violence, conflicts and wrongdoings, a peaceful and equal society is possible.

We try to raise voices of the alternative narratives that were suppressed by official history and to introduce different perspectives about the past to society, especially to youth.

It is for this reason that we founded Karakutu at the beginning of 2014, in Istanbul.

Working Areas

As a voluntary and participatory organisation, we conduct projects such as

  • Memorialisation projects for/with young people;
  • Trainings and meetings in the area of dealing with past;
  • Intercommunity historical dialogue projects

Karakutu Values

Karakutu,

  • is independent of states, governments and political parties,
  • is against any discrimination based on race, language, religion, gender, political affiliation and similar reasons,
  • is against any kind of violence and militarism under all conditions,
  • believes in the right of all creatures to live in fair conditions and problematizes any type of domination,
  • is transparent to its volunteers and supporters,
  • recognises young people’s active participation and non-formal learning.

You can download the statute of Karakutu Association from here. (PDF, in Turkish)