Mert Fırat

Mert Fırat was born in Ankara in 1981. After graduating from high school, he went to Sweden to receive training in radio and television.

Later he moved back to Ankara and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Ankara University Faculty of Language, History and Geography.

He has starred in a series of television programs and movies since 2005. He also played the lead role in the film “Love in Another Language”, the script of which was written by Fırat himself along with director İlksen Başarır. Fırat also wrote the script for the film titled “Atlıkarınca” (Merry-go-round).

Fırat, who has been involved in theater for many years performing on various stages, still performs in striking shows titled “Bütün Çılgınlar Sever Beni” (All the Crazy People Love Me) and “Parkta Güzel Bir Gün” (A Beautiful Day at the Park) on the Moda Stage.

He took part in a wide range of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects and public awareness campaigns. He also taught acting and drama classes to children in Samsun İlkadım Learning Unit within the scope of “I Read, I Play” project carried out by the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV). He contributed greatly to setting up clubs for deaf and hearing impaired people and opening sign language courses by the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey. He participated panels on incestuous relationships held by Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Foundation. He played a significant role in making the issue of incest come to the forefront. He gave active support to the anti-fur campaign named “Take Off Your Fur, Wear Your Conscience” (Kürkünü Çıkar Vicdanını Giy) launched by the Bana Göz Kulak Ol Association.

Fırat, who took part voluntarily in various public awareness campaigns launched by the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV), the Foundation for Children with Leukemia (LÖSEV) and a variety of LGBT and youth organizations is still involved voluntarily in many different campaigns and activities.

Last but not least he played an active role in national and global activities on gender equality and violence against women. Within this scope he voiced the infographic video on violence against women prepared by BİANET and also provided volunteer support for the video to reach a large audience. Furthermore Fırat took part in video-making process of “The Ozgecan Law” campaign started on Change.org platform. He appeared in the public awareness film of the campaign. He supports the HeforShe campaign, a solidarity campaign for gender equality initiated by the United Nations.

Mert Fırat, who works with various associations and foundations on corporate social responsibility, appears as a partner in two different projects. Firstly he put the “Sanat Mahal” project into practice with his partners in Bursa. This is a new social enterprise project aimed at creating an art space for the neighborhood and the city. Secondly, Fırat, one of the founders of www.ihtiyacharitasi.org contributes actively to planning and functioning of the project.