The LİBERİST Culture and Arts Summit, organized by the Liber Culture and Arts Association, will bring together figures from different fields of the culture and arts world on the same stage for the second time this year. LİBERİST’26 will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the İş Sanat Culture Center with the theme of "Rethinking."
Organized at a time when the world is changing rapidly and conventional ways of thinking are being questioned, the summit aims to create a space for thought where different disciplines intersect. Aiming to take a fresh look at the present and the future through the windows of art, science, literature, and philosophy, LİBERİST’26 invites participants to move beyond being mere listeners and become an active part of the thought process.
In the panels and discussions to be held under the "Rethinking" theme, in addition to the question "What are we thinking?", the questions "Why do we think this way, and is it possible to think otherwise?" will also be addressed.
FROM LIBER'S BOOK CLUB TO A CULTURE AND ARTS COMMUNITY
Behind LİBERİST is the Liber Culture and Arts Association, which began as a book club in 2019 and evolved over time into an interdisciplinary culture and arts community.
Established as an association in 2023 under the leadership of 38 female founding members, Liber continues its work today with a book club network of 896 people and 84 active members. The association aims to popularize reading culture, support art and artists, encourage scientific thought, and carry cultural heritage into the future with a universal approach.
At the center of Liber's work is not only organizing culture and arts events, but also creating an environment where people who read, think, question, and produce can feed off one another. LİBERİST stands out as one of the most comprehensive gatherings that carries the dialogue the association has established in the world of culture, art, and thought to wider audiences.
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES WILL MEET ON THE SAME STAGE
The main event of LİBERİST’26 will be hosted and moderated by Erhan Ali Yılmaz. The keynote speaker of the summit will be Adnan Bali, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Türkiye İş Bankası.
Numerous figures from various fields, ranging from academia to art, science to literature, and the world of thought, will also take part as speakers at the summit.
Guests at the summit include Prof. Dr. Besim Dellaloğlu, Özlem Gürses, Murat Germen, Emre Zeytinoğlu, Nilay Örnek, Prof. Dr. Hüsamettin Koçan, Prof. Dr. Veysi Erkcan Özcan, Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Gündüz Demir, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem Beyarslan, Prof. Dr. Zekiye Antakyalıoğlu, Yalın Alpay, Cem Alpan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selda Salman, Prof. Dr. Kaan Harun Ökten, Prof. Dr. Emre Şan, Pelin Dilara Çolak, Prof. Dr. Itır Erhart, and Akan Abdula.
Throughout the day-long panels and discussions, figures from different disciplines will discuss how ways of thinking are shaped and the possibilities of generating new questions through different perspectives.
THE FIRST SUMMIT WAS HELD WITH THE THEME OF "CURIOSITY"
The first LİBERİST was held in 2025 with the theme of "Curiosity." While the first summit brought 600 people under the same roof, 94 students attended the event for free as part of the "Suspended Ticket" project, which was implemented to support university students' access to the event.
The Suspended Ticket practice, which supports young people's access to the world of thought and culture, will continue this year. University students will be able to attend the panels and discussions of LİBERİST’26 on the theme of "Rethinking" free of charge.
"RE-QUESTIONING WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW"
Ferah Türel, Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Liber Culture and Arts Association, stated that LİBERİST’26 is not just an event where speeches are listened to, and explained the purpose of the summit as follows:
"We do not see LİBERİST as an event where speeches are listened to and then people return home. We see it as a space where a thought, a new question, and a new way of thinking can be discovered. For us, 'Rethinking' does not mean rejecting what we know; it means showing the courage to re-question what we think we know. We believe that bringing different disciplines, different generations, and different perspectives together in the same environment will pave the way for new ideas."
Aiming to take a fresh look at the world through the different windows of art, science, literature, and philosophy, LİBERİST’26 will be held on October 7, 2026, at the İş Sanat Culture Center.
News Source: 12punto
