ANTALYA WOMEN MUSEUM

We wanted to contribute to society. We wanted to add more meaning to our lives before we passed away. We wanted to pay our dues to our mothers, wives, daughters, lovers, friends and to all women who made our lives more worthwhile. In order to achieve a bright future, we thought it was best to make an effort about “women’s issues” Our Advisory Board worked tirelessly for almost 1 year under the management of Nizamettin Şen and Yeliz Gül Ege. As a result of the strong support provided by the Antalya Promotion Foundation (ATAV) we have already launched the virtual museum. We became the world's 12^th virtual women’s museum and were accepted as a member of the International Association of Women's Museums (IAWM). Today Antalya has a women’s museum. Our immediate goal is to give this virtual museum a concrete form and our main goal is to create an international platform where women of the world come together in Antalya.

Antalya is the most suitable city for this undertaking, because thanks to tourism Antalya has become the international face of Turkey. Antalya offers the most convenient and attractive environment for international encounters. Antalya encompasses a history of famous, powerful and influential women since thousands of years. There has been a woman’s movement in Antalya for a considerable time and which shouldn’t be ignored.

Our expectation from you is to join as a member of this museum, participate and become strong stakeholders. We have made significant progress in what is a very important civic involvement project. We will continue our journey together with you. Ultimately, this museum has been set up for you and belongs to you. Now you can watch interviews and exhibitions on our website and you can even have your own virtual exhibit as an active stakeholder.

The aim of the museum is to establish the Antalya Women Museum, initially in a virtual setting, and maintaining it not only as a visual area, but also as a dynamic educational and socio-cultural activity centre. By creating this important example of a virtual thematic museum, civic awareness of urban and rural women in Antalya will be increased, while addressing issues related to women and supporting their struggles, so that they can take their rightful place in society. Therefore, this will also help preserve the gains that women acquired in the Republic, which was established under the guidance of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The mission of the museum is to present the individual, social, cultural, economic and political aspects of women’s roles today as well as in the past, reflect on their current situation and convey them to the museum’s visitors. Likewise to disseminate whatever is good and positive in regards to women and raising women's awareness by creating an active and sustainable joint platform that will bring women together.

Why Women Museum? Because women are the foundation of society. When the status of women improves, the whole society will advance. Women give birth and raise future generations. Their current conditions will determine the status of future generations. Society depends on the presence, intelligence, courtesy, hard work and productivity of women. Women face the most hardships in life. There is a need for women’s associations, which are engaged in different areas of interest and are independent of each other, to come together under a common roof and join forces.

We look forward to see you at the Antalya Women Museum’s “Jale Inan 2015 Antalya Women of the Year Award” ceremony on February 1, 2016.

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Çevik
Museum Curator / Columnist
Hürriyet Akdeniz, 11 January 2016