Istanbul Airport donates ‘From Canvas to Pixels’ NFT revenues to TODEV

As part of World Autism Awareness Day on 2 April 2022, iGA Istanbul Airport (IST) announced the ‘Dreams Are Moving to Digital – From Canvas to Pixels’ initiative, implemented in collaboration with the Turkish Autistic Support and Education Foundation (TODEV) and Upfilts technology partner. While children with autism had the opportunity to experience the accessible services on offer at the airport within the scope of the project, the revenue obtained from the sales of NFTs were donated to TODEV.

Based on its ‘Airport For Everyone’ principle, caring about the rights of individuals with special needs from the moment they are born, and focusing on the goal of becoming a more ‘accessible’ airport for all its guests,  iGA Istanbul Airport has added other significant social responsibility projects to its works in this area.

The ‘Dreams Are Moving to Digital – From Canvas to Pixels’ initiative was established last November (2021) with the co-operation of the TODEV to guarantee that individuals with autism are better understood by society as a whole. Within the project’s scope, children with autism were asked to paint their dream journey. These images were uploaded to digital platforms such as SparkAR, and then, inspired by the stories created by the children while drawing, the pictures were enhanced using visual effects and animations through various 2D and 3D design applications. The AR technology allows users to experience the enhanced artworks through their own social media accounts. And the digitalisation of these children’s imagination allows them to be better understood.

Credit: iGA Istanbul Airport (IST)

‘The Magical Journey’ from Istanbul to Antalya

Another important part of the ‘Dreams Moving to Digital – From Canvas to Pixels’ project was to provide the children with a more comfortable and accessible travel experience. Benefiting from Istanbul Airport’s iGA Cares services, the children travelled to Antalya with their families and had a wonderful time at The Land of Legends Theme Park.

The final stage of the project was to create NFT copies of their artworks. Each drawing, which were all unique, was sold for $1,000, with all of the revenue donated to TODEV.

An independent and comfortable travel experience for everyone

Kadri Samsunlu, the CEO of iGA Istanbul Airport, who opened the exhibition held in front of the Istanbul sign in the terminal area, drew attention to the fact that they wanted to ensure that all passengers experienced a hassle-free and comfortable journey. Samsunlu said: “The twinkle in the eyes of the children who took part in this project reminds us of how right and how important all the steps we have taken for accessibility are and gives us great strength to do even more. This project, which started with a workshop, addresses many areas that iGA Istanbul Airport is concerned with, including art and technology. In addition, the project emerged as a result of a very enjoyable journey and it was further developed by the recent popularity of augmented reality. It is wonderful that we can explore our children’s imaginary worlds and understand them better thanks to this technology.”