NOVADER
NOVA 2025, İlyada and Burak in “NOVA#1 — HUMAN RIGHTS THE SEQUEL”
WELCOME, YOU ARE NOW IN YOUR NEW SPACE
In Latin, NOVA means “new.”
In Turkish, DER is short for “Dernek”.
NOVA-DER (New Association)
We’re here to challenge what an NGO can be in Türkiye.
We are here forbreaking out of old perspectives.
We are here to build something unapologetically new.
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NOVA’s Mission? Vision? It's long. and it’s Big. But in three words?
HUMAN
arts&culture
Lets Connect (Click Me!)
Lets Connect (Click Me!)
Voices of NOVA28
We asked our founding generation — 28 members from Çanakkale and beyond — why they wanted to be involved.
“NOVADER is the space I invented because no other space fit me. Here, I feel free and confident — like I finally belong to something I built.”
— Alkım, 19 - Founder
“Art isn’t just personal expression — it’s power. With NOVADER I can share that power, create with others, and keep learning.”
— Ceren, 22 - Artist at Heart
“I want a place where young people can take initiative without fear. NOVADER is exactly that — a lab for ideas and impact.”
— Didem, 24 - Entrepreneur
✦ Berke, 20 — Music Lover “Erasmus+ opened my world. NOVADER lets me keep learning, creating, and meeting people who share the same energy.”
✦ Berke, 20 — Music Lover “Erasmus+ opened my world. NOVADER lets me keep learning, creating, and meeting people who share the same energy.”
✦ Ahmet, 19 — Hair Artist “Cutting hair in Berlin through Erasmus+ was wild. NOVADER gives me the same rush: new people, new stories, no limits.”
✦ Ahmet, 19 — Hair Artist “Cutting hair in Berlin through Erasmus+ was wild. NOVADER gives me the same rush: new people, new stories, no limits.”
✦ Ahsen, 27 — Designer & Nomad “I’ve been traveling the world, but what I want most is to write projects and coordinate with people who dream bigger. NOVADER makes that possible.”
✦ Ahsen, 27 — Designer & Nomad “I’ve been traveling the world, but what I want most is to write projects and coordinate with people who dream bigger. NOVADER makes that possible.”
✦ Ceylin, 21 — Musician & Dreamer “Ballet, guitar, theatre — all my worlds collide here. I want NOVADER to be the place where we experience and grow together.”
✦ Ceylin, 21 — Musician & Dreamer “Ballet, guitar, theatre — all my worlds collide here. I want NOVADER to be the place where we experience and grow together.”
✦ Naz, 20 — Student & Creator “I dream of an NGO that people one day say: I wish I could be a part of that. NOVADER is already on its way.”
✦ Naz, 20 — Student & Creator “I dream of an NGO that people one day say: I wish I could be a part of that. NOVADER is already on its way.”
“The Statement Piece”
NOVADER was founded at the age of 18 by Alkım Erkan Tanrıgünverdi, one of the youngest NGO founders in the world. Read more in his auto-reportage, where he reflects on the challenges he faced and the people who made it possible.
OAQ
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A youth, culture, and arts NGO — but not the dusty type. NOVA means “new” in Latin, DER is short for dernek (association) in Turkish. Put together, NOVADER = a new kind of association. One that actually feels alive.
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Cause nobody frequently asks these. They just occasionally do. And we like honesty.
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Because we hate the word boring. We’d rather be remembered for shaking things up than for writing reports nobody reads.
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All of the above.
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We send young people abroad through Erasmus+ and ESC.
We launch projects in arts, culture, and environment.
We collaborate with creators and organizations who think tradition should be challenged.
We laugh a lot while doing it.
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A founder who started NOVADER at 18, plus 28+ members with an average age of 24. Over 60% of decision-making roles are held by women. Basically, we’re run by people who know what TikTok is but can still write a project budget.
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Pls do
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Because every “trendsetting NGO” doesn’t have to be in Istanbul. We like starting fires in unexpected places
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EU projects, collabs, and most of the times just pure hustle. We’re still tiny, but we dream big.
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Because it’s loud, warm, and a little chaotic. Just like us.
Our (Temporary) Home
NOVADER mostly runs in the digital space zoom calls, collabs, late-night idea storms. But if you’re in Çanakkale and want to feel us in 3D, you can visit our friends at Yıldızlı Dükkan.
It’s not just a shop; it’s where Gurbet and Cemil keep creativity alive in the form of gifts, crafts, and little things that spark joy. They were kind enough to let us call it NOVADER’s temporary office — proof that our base is as flexible as our ideas.
Don’t forget to grab your discount by unsettlingly whispering “nova” to Gurbet or Cemil.
We are 28 humans (and counting) — artists, students, dreamers, travelers, and people who laugh too loudly in meetings. Average age: 24. Ratio: more women in decision-making than most parliaments. Skill set: everywhere from theatre to coding to braiding someone’s hair at 3 a.m.
We think you would look awesome in orange.* click me
The Team is waiting for you
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The Team is waiting for you *
Did you check out our pixel postcard canvas?
Create your Pixel-Art postcard, and send it to us, we might showcase our favourites from time to time.
click me
THE NEW WAVE IS NOT COMING — IT’S ALREADY HERE. FOR TOO LONG, NGOS IN TÜRKİYE HAVE WORN THEIR SUITS, PRINTED THEIR GLOSSY REPORTS, AND TALKED CIRCLES AROUND “CHANGE” WITHOUT EVER LEAVING THEIR GLASS OFFICES. THE LANGUAGE OF ACTIVISM WAS STOLEN, DILUTED, BUREAUCRATIZED. THE YOUTH WERE INVITED AS DECORATION, THEIR CREATIVITY SANITIZED, THEIR RAGE TAMED. BUT THE STREETS NEVER FORGET. THE REAL WORK WAS NEVER IN BOARDROOMS — IT WAS IN THE ALLEYS, IN THE UNDERGROUND STUDIOS, IN THE CHAOS OF SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGES. WE ARE NOT YOUR POLITE, DONOR-FRIENDLY GENERATION. WE DON’T CARE FOR TITLES, WE DON’T WAIT FOR PERMISSION, AND WE DON’T PERFORM EMPATHY FOR A PAYCHECK. WE ARE THE ONES BUILDING FROM SCRATCH, BLEEDING IDEAS INTO EXISTENCE WITH NOTHING BUT TIME, VISION, AND STUBBORNNESS. WHILE THE OTHERS WROTE PROJECTS, WE BUILT CULTURE. WE BUILT COLLECTIVES OUT OF FRAGMENTS, WE TURNED WALLS INTO GALLERIES, AND WE CARVED ART OUT OF RESISTANCE. NOVADER DOESN’T JUST STAND FOR YOUTH AND ART — IT STANDS FOR THE REFUSAL TO DECAY. FOR THE BELIEF THAT CULTURE CAN STILL BURN BRIGHT IN A COUNTRY WHERE EVERYONE’S TOO TIRED TO DREAM.THE NGO WORLD IN TÜRKİYE NEEDS A REVOLUTION, NOT A REBRAND. NO MORE HOLLOW “CAPACITY BUILDING.” NO MORE FAKE INCLUSION PANELS. NO MORE “STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS” WHERE NOTHING CHANGES. THE TIME FOR POLITE COLLABORATION IS OVER. THE TIME FOR REAL, MESSY, UNAPOLOGETIC CREATION HAS BEGUN.
