Foundations Day 2019

The SARIAS Foundation is a member of the Association of German Foundations. The diversity of foundations, what motivates donors, the work foundations do, what they achieve through their work and what they contribute to society: You can find out about all these things at the European campaign day on 1 October 2019!

The Foundations Day is the most important campaign day across Europe for all European foundations. It raises awareness on the work of foundations and was first established in 2013 by the European Donors and Foundations Network (DAFNE). Only a small number of people are aware of what foundations have done for society over hundreds of years. https://www.tag-der-stiftungen.de

Nationale Jugendphilharmonie der Türkei in Berlin

Die 2007 durch den Dirigenten Cem Mansur gegründete Nationale Jugendphilharmonie der Türkei versteht sich als „Laboratorium der Demokratie“, wo über die intensive musikalische Arbeit hinaus die Prinzipien von Koexistenz, Leadership, Selbstrespekt und Verantwortung verwirklicht werden.  Workshops und Seminare nehmen dabei eine wichtige Rolle ein – so auch 2014, als das Orchester zum 25-jährigen Bestehen der Städtepartnerschaft zwischen Istanbul und Berlin zu Gast an der Spree war. In den letzten Jahren gastierten die Musiker im Alter zwischen 16 und 22 Jahren mit großem Erfolg in den Philharmonien von Dortmund und Essen, im Auditorium in Rom, in Brüssel, beim Brucknerfest in Linz und beim Beethoven-Fest in Bonn. 2018 spielte das Orchester auf seiner Europatournee in Wien, Budapest, Prag und Warschau.

Am 24. Juli 2019 hat die Nationale Jugendphilharmonie der Türkei mit Unterstützung ihres Hauptsponsors, der Sabanci-Stiftung (https://www.sabancivakfi.org/), erneut ein mit großem Applaus bedachtes Konzert in Berlin gegeben.

Das Konzert fand im Rahmen des Festivals Young Euro Classic im Konzerthaus Berlin statt. Zum 30. Jubiläum der Städtepartnerschaft Istanbul – Berlin brachte das Orchester mit großem Enthusiasmus unter ihrem Dirigenten Cem Mansur Stücke von Carl Maria v. Weber, Sergei Rachmaninow und Ludwig van Beethoven sowie eine neue Komposition der 1973 geborenen türkischen Komponistin Füsün Köksal zur Aufführung. Das Programm erstreckte sich somit über 200 Jahre Musikgeschichte.

Auch die SARIAS Stiftung hat das Berliner Konzert dieses erfolgreichen Jugendorchesters unterstützt und freut sich sehr, zum Gelingen beigetragen zu haben.

Thank you, dear Ronja!

Dear Ronja, our president and the entire SARIAS Foundation were very pleased with your letter. It is exactly this feedback that motivates us to create even more fairy tale books and to make even more children happy with our books. Your picture will have a place of honour in our office and will remind us every day of all the children who love to read fairy tales. We thank you very much for your letter.

Children’s opera “Pinocchio’s Adventures” had free online premiere​

In the beginning of 2021, the opera houses were still closed. It was therefore with a heavy heart that the Berlin State Opera had to cancel the premiere of “Pinocchio’s Adventures” in front of a live audience. However, in an effort to ensure not all the preparations were in vain, the State Opera decided to stage the production in spite of everything. The SARIAS Foundation worked with the State Opera to create a professional stream. We are delighted with the result, which could be watched online for one month and hopefully in front of a live audience soon!Pinocchio’s adventurous journey was recounted in an exciting hour-long interplay of music, tableaus and puppetry for children aged 6 and over.

Everyone knows the story of Pinocchio, whose nose grows longer when he lies…On his journey from animated wooden puppet to a boy of flesh and bone, Pinocchio must survive numerous adventures in which he proves his courage and remains loyal to his father, the woodcarver Gepetto. Along the way, he has to contend with some dangerous characters like the greedy fox and tomcat, shady circus directors and even a giant whale.

Pinocchio learns the hard way that his nose grows inconveniently long when he lies too much, and that there are unpleasant consequences to being lazy, skipping school and spending time in the seemingly heavenly Land of Toys, where no one works. The mysterious fairy with its dark blue hair is always at his side, rescuing him repeatedly and finally bringing him back to his long-lost father.

The children’s opera “Pinocchio’s Adventures” was created by the Italian composer Lucia Ronchetti in 2015, with lyrics closely following the original version of the classic children’s book by Carlo Collodi. The work was being performed in German for the first time at the Berlin State Opera (Unter den Linden). Soprano Sarah Aristidou portrays the wooden protagonist Pinocchio, while five instrumentalists from the Staatskapelle Berlin assume the roles of the story’s numerous supporting characters.

Learning is reading 

We know the many advantages of reading alone and aloud for children: from increasing concentration to better text comprehension. Learning means reading, reading connects us and reading satisfies the curiosity, thirst for adventure and hunger for knowledge of children. They can dive into the exciting world of the stories and discover unknown worlds. Or they can find answers to their questions by looking something up. To make reading something that children don’t just have to do, but actually want to do, we need more interesting and age-appropriate literature. The SARIS Foundation wants to provide incentive for reading and give as many children as possible the opportunity to experience literature. 

The Mehmet Akif Ersoy Middle School in Şanlıurfa, south-east Turkey didn’t have enough books for its 1110 students, so the SARIAS Foundation donated 5 copies of a total of 189 different books. These included both works of Turkish literature, such as Dede Korkut, Kaşağı and 87 Oğuz, as well as international literature such as The Little Prince, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Andersen’s fairy tales, Pinocchio and Tom Sawyer. The small library at the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Middle School can now begin to grow and there is something for every student to read. 

 Children’s opera “Pinocchio’s Adventures” has free online premiere

The opera houses are closed. It was therefore with a heavy heart that the Berlin State Opera had to cancel the premiere of “Pinocchio’s Adventures” in front of a live audience. However, in an effort to ensure not all the preparations were in vain, the State Opera decided to stage the production in spite of everything. The SARIAS Foundation worked with the State Opera to create a professional stream, and we are delighted with the result! Pinocchio’s adventurous journey is recounted in an exciting hour-long interplay of music, tableaus and puppetry for children aged 6 and over.

You can watch the video by following the link below:

https://youtu.be/r-YF61MUr00

Everyone knows the story of Pinocchio, whose nose grows longer when he lies…On his journey from animated wooden puppet to a boy of flesh and bone, Pinocchio must survive numerous adventures in which he proves his courage and remains loyal to his father, the woodcarver Gepetto. Along the way, he has to contend with some dangerous characters like the greedy fox and tomcat, shady circus directors and even a giant whale.

Pinocchio learns the hard way that his nose grows inconveniently long when he lies too much, and that there are unpleasant consequences to being lazy, skipping school and spending time in the seemingly heavenly Land of Toys, where no one works. The mysterious fairy with its dark blue hair is always at his side, rescuing him repeatedly and finally bringing him back to his long-lost father.

The children’s opera “Pinocchio’s Adventures” was created by the Italian composer Lucia Ronchetti in 2015, with lyrics closely following the original version of the classic children’s book by Carlo Collodi. The work is being performed in German for the first time at the Berlin State Opera (Unter den Linden).

Soprano Sarah Aristidou portrays the wooden protagonist Pinocchio, while five instrumentalists from the Staatskapelle Berlin assume the roles of the story’s numerous supporting characters.