27th Aydın Doğan Award Goes to Antakya Civilizations Chorus

The Aydın Doğan Award, given by the Aydın Doğan Foundation to reward individuals or institutions that have achieved national and international success in the fields of culture, art, literature and science, went to the Antakya Civilizations Chorus, which gives messages of peace to the whole world from Hatay.

This year, the Aydın Doğan Award, which has been given by the Aydın Doğan Foundation every year since 1996 to reward individuals or institutions that have won praise in national and international platforms in different fields, namely culture, art, literature, and science, goes to the Antakya Civilizations Chorus, from Hatay, which has shared the message of peace with the whole world, and reminded us all that music is a universal language –through more than 1,500 concerts being performed at home and abroad.

In the statement made by the Aydın Doğan Foundation, the “Antakya Civilizations Chorus has introduced the centuries-old cultural richness of Hatay, one of the ancient cities of our country, and the approach of tolerance between civilizations to the world with great success since 2008. It has conveyed messages of peace from Hatay to the whole world, holding over 1,500 concerts at home and abroad. It reminded us that music is a universal language. Great efforts were made in the spirit of solidarity to reunite the chorus, which lost 7 artists and had to take a break from its work after the 6^th February earthquake that deeply shook our country. As an institution that attaches great value to art and artists and always supports them, this year's Aydın Doğan Award was given to the Antakya Civilizations Chorus by the decision of our Board of Directors, to appreciate their success so far and set an example for our young people. The Award Ceremony will be held in December in Istanbul.

Chorus tries to heal the wounds opened by the earthquake

7 artists of the Antakya Civilizations Chorus lost their lives in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake that occurred on 6^th February, this year. The remaining members of the 200-people chorus moved to different provinces of Türkiye, which opened its doors to earthquake victims. The chorus' director, Yılmaz Özfırat, and technical coordinator, Bedirhan Gök, aim to bring the Antakya Civilizations Chorus together again, tell the world about Türkiye’s richness of civilizations, and keep the memory of the 7 artists who lost their lives in the earthquake alive through music.

Chorus of Civilizations

The Antakya Civilizations Chorus was founded in Hatay in 2008. It consists of 200 members, 100 women and 100 men, belonging to 3 monotheistic religions (Muslim, Christian, and Jewish) and 6 different civilizations (Alevi, Sunni, Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish, and Armenian).

Among the members of the association, there are people from various professional and social groups such as imams, priests, teachers, lawyers, tradesmen, engineers, doctors, students and homemakers.

The chorus, conducted by Yılmaz Özfırat, was founded to give messages of peace, tolerance, fraternity, and love. Members of the chorus sing each other's hymns and folk songs with a sense of sincerity. The chorus, which presents the values and beautiful melodies rooted in our land in all its simplicity, serves as a mirror reflecting the Turkish civilization with the hymns, folk songs and folk songs they sing, all from different cultures.

To date, the Civilizations Chorus has performed more than 1,500 concerts in various scenarios, in different countries and cities. They increased their visibility on the international stage by performing concerts for the UN Security Council Members in New York, Members of Parliament at the European Parliament Building in Brussels, and EU Mission Members at Dolmabahçe Palace.

The Chorus of Civilizations has been deemed worthy of many awards and was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.