Kemal Vural Tarlan
Kemal Vural Tarlan is a researcher and a documentary photographer.
Since 2000, Kemal Vural Tarlan has been conducting visual sociology and anthropology research on Dom Gypsy communities living in the Middle East. His studies, articles and photos were featured in numerous international symposia, congresses, exhibitions and other journals. He has written articles on the rights of refugees from the Middle East and worked as an activist.
Since 2011, he has been conducting research on Syrian refugees and studying immigration theories and social cohesion. He lectured on photography and photojournalism and ethics as a visiting lecturer at Gaziantep University Faculty of Communication until 2021.
He is a board member of the Cross-Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM) network based in Beirut.
Emine Doğan
She has been working as an early childhood educator in Gaziantep for 10 years. Within the organization, she is the founder and one of the coordinators of Matbakh || Mutfak Workshop, which organizes academic events and implements projects. She has a dissertation on the women solidarity built around kitchen programs.
Hala Khankan
She is a Syrian refugee who migrated to Turkey after the war in Syria when she was 17 in 2013. She joined Kirkayak Kultur in 2014 as a volunteer where she was introduced to activism and feminist work. She is currently working in an international organization working with migrants.
Sinem İnan
Elif Sinem İnan’s Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, where she gained in-depth experience and understanding of the various aspects of urban development, such as urban studies, transportation, and community engagement.
Zerrin Alkan
Zerrin Alkan was born in Van in 1988. She graduated from Elazığ University in 2013 as an Environmental Engineer. Her first involvement in civil society activities was through Kırkayak Kültür and has worked in national and international non-governmental organization since 2013. She is currently employed by an international organization working with migrants.
Ayşegül Ateş
He graduated from Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine. She completed her specialization in Family Medicine at Ankara Training and Research Hospital.
She completed her master‘s thesis on “Fertility Behaviors of Immigrated Syrian Women” in Women’s Studies at Gaziantep University. She has been involved in various non-governmental organizations for many years. She was one of the founders of Kırkayak Kültür in 2010. She is the coordinator of the Culture and Art Program of Kırkayak Kültür and the International Zeugma Film Festival. She is in the Mutfak II Matbakh team. She continues her studies on migration, gender, coexistence, right to health, culture and arts.
Fatma Çoşkun Caymaz
After graduating from Muğla University, Department of Sociology, she completed her master’s degree in Sociology and General Methodology at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. He gained field study experience by taking part in various research projects during his university years. Since 2018, she has been working at Kırkayak Kültür in various positions, especially on Dom and Abdal Communities, as well as on human rights, temporary protection, the right to education in disadvantaged communities, refugee rights and gender equality.
Tolga Yelmen
After graduating from Bursa Boys’ High School, he completed his undergraduate degree at Izmir University of Economics, Department of International Relations and European Union in 2012. After his graduation, he continued working in various companies in the private sector for 3 years. Since 2015, he has worked as a manager in humanitarian aid and education projects implemented by international and national institutions in several fields.
Zühal Gezicier
She is also a founding member of Romani Godi Memory Studies Association.
In 2019, she completed her master‘s degree at Gaziantep University Institute of Migration, Department of Women’s Studies. She wrote her master’s thesis on Dom people, to whom she also belongs, on "Transformation of Gender Perception in Dom Society" and worked on gender roles that transformed with the changing livelihood patterns during the transition from nomadic life to settled life. In the period of 2022/23, she took academic English and social-anthropology as an RGPP student in the Roma Studies programme at Central European University (CEU) in Vienna.
She is working on the Dom people living in the Middle East. She works especially on Dom women and precarity in the informal economy, dispossession of the body and women’s poverty. She is interested in feminist movements in the Middle East, Gender and Social Anthropology. Her aim is to utilise these sciences in her studies on Dom communities.
Kinem Hazal Tanyeri
She graduated from Gaziantep University, Department of Journalism. During her university years, she gained experience in field studies by taking part in the school newspaper and various media organizations. Since 2019, she took part in various projects as a volunteer at Kırkayak Kültür. In 2022, as an employee of Kırkayak Kültür, she works in the fields of Communication and Culture and Art.
Merve Tüter
She graduated from Gaziantep High School in 2015. In 2019, she graduated from İnönü University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration. She is currently studying at Gaziantep University as a graduate student in Political Science and Public Administration.
Kader Sevinç
She graduated from Yalova University, Department of Social Work. In her graduation thesis, she worked on "The Relationship between Poverty and Social Exclusion in Novels". She continues her voluntary work in the field of civil society. She works as a Social Work Specialist for Kırkayak Culture Migration Research Center.
Mustafa Öztürk
I graduated from Gaziantep Nigar Ertürk High School in 2015. I completed my undergraduate education at Erzincan University, Department of Social Work. I am currently working as a Social Worker at Kırkayak Culture Migration Research Centrer.
Betül Alp
She graduated from Yeditepe University, Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts and Department of Sociology. She completed two professional kitchen internships; worked as a research intern in a non-governmental organization which study migration; and completed another internship about “Media Representations of Syrian Women” at TED University Center for Gender Studies. She works as Project Coordinator of MutfakNa Project.
