TEDxIstanbul Gelisim University

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Ahmet Aydemir

  Asst. Prof. Dr & Sustainability Expert

  Dr. Ahmet Aydemir is a faculty member at Istanbul Bilgi University’s Department of Business Administration and the Director of the Center for Environment, Energy and Sustainability. After graduating from Robert College, he completed double majors in psychology and sociology at Koç University, followed by a master’s and PhD in business at Boğaziçi University, spending part of his doctoral studies at Ghent University in Belgium. In addition to his academic work, he serves as a training program director at Baltaş Group and is a member of the scientific board at Yuvam Dünya Association. His research and teaching focus on organizational behavior, decent work, employee well-being, and sustainability.

• Asiye Bahar Tabanlı

  Social Entrepreneur

  Asiye Bahar Tabanlı draws inspiration from the opportunity inequalities she has encountered in her own life journey, aiming to create a solidarity network where young women realize they are not alone and can move forward by empowering each other. To achieve this, she founded Turkisheyi as a social enterprise. Bahar supports young women aged 18-25 in discovering their potential and writing their own stories with confidence. She is building an ecosystem where women draw strength from each other. As a social entrepreneur, Bahar believes that social transformation is possible through sisterhood, and she continues to empower women to create lasting change.

• İzzeddin Çalışlar

  Author, Editor, Curator

  Born in Istanbul in 1964, İzzeddin Çalışlar is a graduate of Galatasaray High School and Istanbul University’s Faculty of Political Sciences. Throughout his career, he has worked in advertising, screenwriting, travel writing, playwriting, and journalism. He has authored and edited nearly 200 books across various genres, making a significant impact in the publishing world. Çalışlar has lectured at communication faculties and curated numerous thematic exhibitions. With an interdisciplinary approach and a strong focus on storytelling, he continues to bring new perspectives to the concept of sustainability in the cultural and artistic fields.

• Levent Kurnaz

  Prof. Dr., Physicist, Climate Scientist

  Prof. Dr. Levent Kurnaz was born in Istanbul. He graduated from Boğaziçi University in 1988 with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He completed his M.Sc. in both Electrical & Electronics Engineering and Physics at the same university in 1990. In 1994, he earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. Between 1995 and 1997, he conducted postdoctoral research at Tulane University’s Department of Chemistry. Since 1997, he has been a faculty member at Boğaziçi University, Department of Physics. He also serves as the founding director of the Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies at Boğaziçi University. Prof. Dr. Kurnaz is widely recognized for his academic and public work on climate change, sustainability, and environmental policy.

• Ufuk Emin Akengin

  Co-founder of Onaranlar Kulübü, Social Entrepreneur

  Ufuk Emin Akengin is a social entrepreneur working in the fields of design, art, and social impact. As the founder of Onaranlar Kulübü, he develops participatory production, upcycling, and creative intervention projects at the urban scale. Through his work, he builds bridges between brands, organizations, and communities, focusing on the democratization of production, participation, and sustainable transformation.