The Initiative focuses on two areas of cooperation which are of essential importance for the future of Turkey and Germany within a larger European and global context. These areas are:

EU/German-Turkish relations
Climate change

The Initiative’s corner stone is the Mercator–IPC Fellowship Program which allows international scholars and civil society activists predominantly, but not exclusively, from Germany to work on academic and practical projects at IPC.

The Initiative was launched on July 5, 2011 upon the signing of the “Memorandum of Understanding” by the presidents of Sabancı University and Stiftung Mercator. It officially initiated its activities on January 1, 2012.

About the founding parties

Sabancı University, established by the Sabancı Foundation in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, welcomed its first students in the 1999-2000 academic year. Since then it has been working towards its mission to develop competent and confident individuals, to contribute to the development of science and technology, and to disseminate the knowledge created to the benefit of the community. Sabancı University continues to respond to the ever- increasing needs of the society with its efforts in education, teaching and research, and has been in direct involvement with the society to understand its current and future needs.

Stiftung Mercator is one of the largest private foundations in Germany. It pursues clearly defined objectives in its thematic clusters of integration, climate change and arts education and it achieves these objectives with a combination of socio-political advocacy and practical work. Stiftung Mercator both implements its own and supports external projects at its centers for science and humanities, education and international affairs. It takes an entrepreneurial, professional and international approach to its work.