The UNESCO Chair in Philosophy and Human Rights was established at Maltepe University through an agreement signed between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Maltepe University on May 13, 2009.
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and Maltepe University Rector Kemal Köymen, who gathered at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris to sign the agreement, gave brief speeches after the signing ceremony. In his speech, Secretary-General Matsuura expressed his delight at the establishment of such a chair through the agreement between UNESCO and Maltepe University. He recalled that Turkey had hosted the world's most important philosophy conference in 2007 and stated that Turkey was a country making significant contributions to work in the fields of philosophy and human rights.
Following Matsuura's speech, Rector Köymen also expressed his feelings, stating that Maltepe University had been authorized by UNESCO to conduct research in the field of human rights, which is very important for Turkey, and to expand this research on an international scale. He said: "This chair was established at our university thanks to our world-renowned Professor İoanna Kuçuradi in the field of philosophy and human rights, and under her chairmanship. She is the honorary president of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies. With her contributions and experience, we hope that this chair will lay the foundation for new research and studies in Turkey." Rector Köymen noted that their aim is to put the philosophical concepts that create crises in Turkey on the table and to flesh out these concepts by conducting specific studies on them. Köymen continued his speech as follows: "There are only two such chairs in Turkey, established under the chairmanship of Prof. Kuçuradi. One of them is now ours, and this will put us in a privileged position in human rights and philosophy studies. First, we will establish an integrated documentation, research, and education system on philosophy and human rights. I believe that such a system will bring together researchers in Turkey and other countries and enable more effective work. There are many concepts in Turkey that create crises, foremost among them ‘secularism’. We want to engage with these concepts. Freedom of expression is very important today. They are considering changing the constitution. Perhaps we can also say a few things to ensure that a constitution compatible with human rights is created."
İoanna Kuçuradi also spoke at the meeting, stating that their goal in establishing the center was to focus on conceptual and content-related work and to contribute to the field of human rights in Turkey. Kuçuradi said they were pursuing new research and mentioned two important needs in establishing the human rights center and in the work being done: "The first need is related to concepts. This is precisely where philosophy connects with the issue. Concepts are confusing; everyone pulls them in the direction they want. What is freedom of expression, for example? The most unimaginable things are done in the name of freedom of expression. People use the concept of secularism as they wish and fail to see its connection to human rights. We now need to implement established human rights education in Turkey. This is the second need."