The Sabancı Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary with a special reception held at the Sabancı Center. Hosted by Güler Sabancı, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, the night brought together members of the Sabancı family and the Board of Trustees, along with many distinguished guests. Among the attendees were Changemakers, scholarship recipients, representatives of civil society organizations, and teachers from schools built by the Foundation—people whose paths have crossed with the Foundation throughout its 50-year journey. During the evening, the Foundation launched a documentary and a commemorative book titled “The Story of 50 Years,” while Güler Sabancı also unveiled the Foundation’s new strategic direction for the first time.
Güler Sabancı, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation: "After 50 years, we have become a large and powerful family. As we enter a new era, we held a strategy retreat with experts from Turkey and abroad. Remaining true to the founding philosophy inherited from our roots, our new strategy aims to deepen our impact even further. Accordingly, we have updated our philanthropic approach and our mission to align with today’s world: ‘We support social development for a more equal and sustainable future.’ This statement will be our compass in the coming period."
The reception was hosted by Güler Sabancı at the Sabancı Center and attended by Sabancı family members Suzan Sabancı, Serra Sabancı, Sevda Sabancı, Sevil Sabancı, and Dilek Sabancı; Board of Trustees members Hayri Çulhacı, Nedim Bozfakıoğlu, Nevgül Bilsel Safkan; and key stakeholders such as Changemakers, scholarship recipients, civil society partners, and teachers whose schools were established by the Foundation.
Sena Gül and violinist Bilge Surlu performed “Kız Leyla”, a song composed by Sezen Aksu in 2015 to raise awareness of child marriages and gifted to the Sabancı Foundation.
“We Will Deepen Our Impact While Remaining True to Our Founding Philosophy”
In her remarks at the reception, Güler Sabancı said: "The Sabancı Foundation's journey began with a donation from my grandmother Sadıka Sabancı and the Sabancı brothers. It has continued with the contributions of the third and fourth generations of our family. After 50 years, we have become a large and powerful family. As we embark on a new phase, we organized a strategy conference with experts from both Turkey and around the world. Staying rooted in our founding philosophy, we aim to deepen our impact. We have updated our philanthropic approach and our purpose of existence to align with today’s needs: ‘We support social development for a more equal and sustainable future.’ This will guide us in the years ahead.”
Güler Sabancı noted that the Foundation’s long-standing work will now be structured under three focus areas: “Quality and inclusive education,” “Gender equality,” and “Participation in social and cultural life.”
"According to reports by international institutions such as Philea—the European Foundation Centre, of which we are a member—the most significant emerging trend in philanthropy is climate change and environmental degradation. This was also a prominent theme in our strategy conference. The urgency of climate change and its resulting disasters deepen inequalities. As climate change and disaster response increasingly intersect with many of our initiatives, we’ve decided to position this issue as a key thematic area in our roadmap moving forward.”
“We Are Launching an Equality Lab in Collaboration with Sabancı University to Produce Reliable, Transparent, Measurable Equality Data”
"One of the other key focus areas in our new strategy is the importance of measuring impact in our social development efforts," Güler Sabancı emphasized.
"Without data, progress is not possible. In the social sector, we lack sufficient data. This requires more academic research and science-based initiatives. Not only civil society but also social science academics at universities have a major role to play. We have made it one of our top priorities to generate and provide access to reliable, transparent, and measurable equality data. In today’s world, where technology and artificial intelligence are advancing rapidly, the ability to read and interpret data has become even more critical. With this mindset, we studied best practices from around the world and drew inspiration from successful models. As the Sabancı Foundation, we are now taking steps to establish an Equality Lab within Sabancı University. Because we believe that no claim of equality can be sustainable without the support of science."
The Story of 50 Years
During the 50th anniversary reception, two special works that tell the half-century story of the Sabancı Foundation were presented to guests. The premiere of a documentary produced by Zeynep Atakan, written by Zeynep Miraç, and directed by Selçuk Metin took place during the event. Additionally, the commemorative book “The Story of 50 Years”, written by Zeynep Miraç and designed by Bülent Erkmen, was introduced.
