The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) has produced a comprehensive publication shedding light on its 35-year history. The almanac, published under the title “One and Together, Thirty-Five Years”, addresses the period from the association's founding in 1990 to the present within a historical, thematic and sociological framework, turning MÜSİAD's institutional memory into a lasting work.
MÜSİAD, which has accompanied Türkiye's socioeconomic transformation over the last thirty-five years, documents in this publication not only its own journey but at the same time the organizational effort of Anatolian capital, the development of a domestic and national development perspective, and a stance built in the business world on the foundation of moral values.
The almanac “One and Together, Thirty-Five Years” offers content enriched with oral history interviews, period analyses, visual archives and document surveys. The first-hand testimonies of many figures, from MÜSİAD's founders to the presidents who have served to this day, and from commission representatives to organization executives, are included in detail in the work.
The almanac demonstrates that MÜSİAD is not merely a business world organization but at the same time a structure that strengthens civil society, prioritizes a value-based development model and gives direction to Türkiye's domestic entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Founded in 1990, MÜSİAD spread rapidly across Anatolia and organized itself at home and abroad; it has represented a structure shaped in the business world by the principles of ethics, justice and productivity. Operating today at 83 contact points at home and, abroad, in 85 countries at a total of 183 points, MÜSİAD is one of Türkiye's most widespread civil society organizations.
The almanac also features the responsible and principled positions MÜSİAD took in many critical periods, from the February 28 process to the July 15 resistance, from organizations held in the shadow of the pandemic to the major earthquakes. At the same time, projects that have become brands, such as MÜSİAD EXPO, IBF (International Business Forum), Young MÜSİAD, the Women's Entrepreneurship Platform, the Qard al-Hasan Fund and SAMEKS, are also described in detail in this work.
The almanac also gives place to the important figures who provided support and contributions during the founding process. The contributions of leaders who guided the way towards the institutionalization of Anatolian capital, foremost among them the late Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan, the late President Turgut Özal and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, are conveyed through documents and testimonies.
It is emphasized that the vision MÜSİAD has put forward has been shaped by a holistic understanding encompassing not only economic but also moral, social and cultural dimensions. MÜSİAD, which managed to become the voice of the Anatolian business world in the development model that took shape in post-1980 Türkiye, is turning its journey from the past to the future into a permanent archive with this work.
The almanac “One and Together, Thirty-Five Years”, edited by Mustafa Halil Aydın and with Mehmet Akif Altan as editor-in-chief, also constitutes a valuable reference in terms of academic historiography. Beyond its quality as an institutional archive, it stands out as a comprehensive resource capable of contributing to the fields of the business world, civil society and economic history in Türkiye.
Carrying in every line the traces of collective labour, a value-oriented stance and the will of civil society, the work also aims to shed light on MÜSİAD's vision for the future.
Click to take a look at the almanac “One and Together, Thirty-Five Years”.
Click to watch the documentary film “One and Together, Thirty-Five Years”.