The Turkish Objectivist Network was established in 2020 after Orçun Koçak and Özgür Özer attended the Prometheus Academy in Batumi, hosted by ARCE. Özgür had attended TOS-Con in 2019, and both young men had been involved in SFL’s Leadership Program for years. Inspired by these events and programs, they launched TON and began cooperating with established free market think tanks in Turkey to advance Ayn Rand’s ideas.
Two years ago, Orçun and Özgür were joined by Ahmet Arpa, who is helping teach courses and online webinars on Objectivism. They have also produced videos discussing how Objectivism applies to various issues in life, which are all available in Turkish on YouTube. They have also been engaging with representatives from MENA countries to whom they’ve distributed the Arabic edition of Rand’s The Virtue of Selfishness.
In December 2025, they launched a café in Ankara, The Catalyst, where students are invited for free coffee while studying philosophy in general and Objectivism in particular. Their motto is “Come for the coffee, leave with a philosophy.”
