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Osman Kavala
Mehmet Osman Kavala (born 2 October 1957) is a Turkish economist, businessman, philanthropist, and political activist. Kavala is the founder and chair of the board of Anadolu Kültür, an Istanbul-based nonprofit arts and culture organization. In 2019, he received the European Archaeological Heritage Prize from the European Association of Archaeologists for his efforts to protect and preserve significant examples of cultural heritage in danger in Turkey and the Ayşenur Zarakolu Freedom of Thought and Expression Award by Human Rights Association's Istanbul branch. His arrests in Turkey caused the European Court of Human Rights and ambassadors from ten Western countries to demand his release. These demands were rejected by Turkish courts and president Erdoğan.
On 25 April 2022, a court sentenced him to life in prison due to his alleged relations with the Gülen movement and the Gezi park protests.
In October 2023, Kavala was awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, and in 2025 the Goethe Medal.
Kavala comes from a family of tobacco traders. His family moved from Northern Greece to Turkey in the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Kavala was born in Paris in 1957 He attended Robert College in Istanbul. Kavala studied management at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara and economics at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, subsequently enrolling in PhD program at The New School for Social Research in New York City but returning to Istanbul upon his father's death in 1982. After his father's death, he took over the family-owned enterprise Kavala Companies.
Starting with the early 1980s, Kavala has contributed to the establishment of several publishing companies in Turkey. Following the coup d'état in 1980, in 1983, he co-founded the publishing house İletişim Yayınları. In 1985, he co-founded Ana Publishing with Nazar Büyüm and Selahattin Beyazıt, which published AnaBritannica (the Turkish version of Encyclopædia Britannica), Britannica Compton's, and Temel Britannica. Kavala is currently a member of the board of directors at Aras Publishing.
In the acknowledgements of his 2018 book Talaat Pasha: Father of Modern Turkey, Architect of Genocide, historian Hans-Lukas Kieser thanks Kavala for his support.
Since the 1990s, Kavala has contributed to numerous civil society organizations in Turkey. In 1984, he co-founded BILSAK (Science Art Culture Services Society), which promoted discussions around gender and ecology. He contributed to the establishment of several NGOs that started in the 1990s. These include TEMA (Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats), Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, and Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe. He has been part of the board of directors of Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audio-visual Culture (TÜRSAK), Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (KMKD), Truth Justice Memory Center, and History Foundation of Turkey. Kavala is also known to be a sponsor of Amnesty International. He actively participated in the development of Spaces of Culture, a project set out to promote and support cultural activities İzmir, Diyarbakır and Gaziantep. The project is initiated by Goethe-Institut, the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, the Embassy of the Netherlands and the Institut francais de Turquie, in cooperation with Anadolu Kültür and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV).
Since 2002, he has spent much time working for the charitable foundation Anadolu Kültür, of which he is the founder and current chair. Anadolu Kültür runs cultural centers in underdeveloped regions of Turkey and fosters cultural cooperation with countries in the Caucasus and Balkan regions as well as those in the European Union. The organization supports local, regional, and international collaborations in arts and culture, and promotes for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Its vision is to contribute to a pluralist and democratic society. Its initiatives include Diyarbakir Arts Center (2002–ongoing), Kars Arts Center (2005–2009), and Depo in Istanbul—hosting exhibitions, talks, screenings, and workshops.
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Osman Kavala
Mehmet Osman Kavala (born 2 October 1957) is a Turkish economist, businessman, philanthropist, and political activist. Kavala is the founder and chair of the board of Anadolu Kültür, an Istanbul-based nonprofit arts and culture organization. In 2019, he received the European Archaeological Heritage Prize from the European Association of Archaeologists for his efforts to protect and preserve significant examples of cultural heritage in danger in Turkey and the Ayşenur Zarakolu Freedom of Thought and Expression Award by Human Rights Association's Istanbul branch. His arrests in Turkey caused the European Court of Human Rights and ambassadors from ten Western countries to demand his release. These demands were rejected by Turkish courts and president Erdoğan.
On 25 April 2022, a court sentenced him to life in prison due to his alleged relations with the Gülen movement and the Gezi park protests.
In October 2023, Kavala was awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, and in 2025 the Goethe Medal.
Kavala comes from a family of tobacco traders. His family moved from Northern Greece to Turkey in the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Kavala was born in Paris in 1957 He attended Robert College in Istanbul. Kavala studied management at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara and economics at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, subsequently enrolling in PhD program at The New School for Social Research in New York City but returning to Istanbul upon his father's death in 1982. After his father's death, he took over the family-owned enterprise Kavala Companies.
Starting with the early 1980s, Kavala has contributed to the establishment of several publishing companies in Turkey. Following the coup d'état in 1980, in 1983, he co-founded the publishing house İletişim Yayınları. In 1985, he co-founded Ana Publishing with Nazar Büyüm and Selahattin Beyazıt, which published AnaBritannica (the Turkish version of Encyclopædia Britannica), Britannica Compton's, and Temel Britannica. Kavala is currently a member of the board of directors at Aras Publishing.
In the acknowledgements of his 2018 book Talaat Pasha: Father of Modern Turkey, Architect of Genocide, historian Hans-Lukas Kieser thanks Kavala for his support.
Since the 1990s, Kavala has contributed to numerous civil society organizations in Turkey. In 1984, he co-founded BILSAK (Science Art Culture Services Society), which promoted discussions around gender and ecology. He contributed to the establishment of several NGOs that started in the 1990s. These include TEMA (Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats), Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, and Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe. He has been part of the board of directors of Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audio-visual Culture (TÜRSAK), Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), Association for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (KMKD), Truth Justice Memory Center, and History Foundation of Turkey. Kavala is also known to be a sponsor of Amnesty International. He actively participated in the development of Spaces of Culture, a project set out to promote and support cultural activities İzmir, Diyarbakır and Gaziantep. The project is initiated by Goethe-Institut, the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, the Embassy of the Netherlands and the Institut francais de Turquie, in cooperation with Anadolu Kültür and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV).
Since 2002, he has spent much time working for the charitable foundation Anadolu Kültür, of which he is the founder and current chair. Anadolu Kültür runs cultural centers in underdeveloped regions of Turkey and fosters cultural cooperation with countries in the Caucasus and Balkan regions as well as those in the European Union. The organization supports local, regional, and international collaborations in arts and culture, and promotes for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Its vision is to contribute to a pluralist and democratic society. Its initiatives include Diyarbakir Arts Center (2002–ongoing), Kars Arts Center (2005–2009), and Depo in Istanbul—hosting exhibitions, talks, screenings, and workshops.