3rd Nicosia Culture, History and Memory Days at CIU
The 3rd Nicosia Culture, History and Memory Days, organized in memory of Tuncer Bağışkan through a collaboration between Cyprus International University (CIU) and Nicosia Turkish Municipality (LTB), and coordinated by ARKHE, took place at the CIU Çevik Uraz Conference Hall with the participation of TRNC President Tufan Erhürman. Held under the theme “The Future of the Archive: Memory, Historiography and Cultural Heritage in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” the event explored the future of archives, cultural heritage and collective memory.
Speaking at the opening of the event, ARKHE Director Halil Duranay stated that, since beginning its activities in 2023, ARKHE had undertaken various initiatives to advance archival research. He noted that this year’s event would examine the future of archives through the lens of artificial intelligence. Duranay emphasized that artificial intelligence offers significant opportunities for accessing archives and generating knowledge, while also raising new questions about how to distinguish authentic information from content artificially generated by AI.
LTB Mayor Mehmet Harmancı highlighted that cities are shaped not only by their buildings but also by the stories and lived experiences they carry from the past to the present. He emphasized the importance of transmitting Nicosia’s multilayered history to future generations. Harmancı stated, “One of the important things that makes a city a city is the stories it has carried from the past to the present. It is not just about buildings; it is about lived experiences and memory.”
CIU Rector Prof. Dr. Erbuğ Çelebi drew attention to universities’ responsibility to make their knowledge and expertise available for the benefit of society, emphasizing the importance of collaboration among universities, local authorities and relevant institutions in preserving cultural memory. Referring to CIU’s work in cultural heritage, archives and memory, Çelebi noted that digital data must be preserved in a sustainable and secure manner.
Following the opening speeches, the first session was moderated by Safiye Özaltıner, a member of the ARKHE Executive Board. During the session, Prof. Dr. Selim Balcısoy from Sabancı University delivered a presentation titled “Two Examples from Cultural Heritage and Digital Social Sciences: Crete Foundations and the Ottoman Bank Archives,” while curator and exhibition designer Sevim Sancaktar presented “The Act of Creating an Archive.” The second session, moderated by Dr. Meray Taluğ, featured presentations by Dilan Çiftçi from Cyprus International University and Pelin Aytemiz Karslı from Yaşar University. Their presentation was titled “From the City to the Home, from Word to Object: Traces of Memory in Everyday Life.”
The third and final session was moderated by Özlem Ünsal, an LTB Council Member and member of the ARKHE Executive Board. Nicoletta Demetriou, Director of the Cyprus Music Archive, presented “The Cypriot Violinist: An Oral History of a Professional Class in the Twentieth Century.” Mehmet Can Soyluoğlu from the Cyprus Institute also delivered a presentation titled “A Hidden Monastery in the Archives: Sourp Magar Monastery and Its Presence from Medieval to Modern Archives.”
On the second day, the 3rd Nicosia Culture, History and Memory Days concluded with the workshop “Not as You Remember It: A Playful Workshop on Photography and Memory,” conducted by İlkyaz Portakalcıoğlu at ARKHE.