Sera Akyazici

Meet The Founder:

31 July 2026

Meet The Founder:

Sera Akyazici

31 July 2026

Q: You were born and raised in Turkey, where people tend to be very open and community-oriented. Berlin is often seen as a much colder city in that sense. How has moving to Berlin changed your understanding of community and belonging?

A: Berlin is a city where all the misfits meet, and because of this, the feeling of belonging to a community is still very strong, despite the “coldness” of the city. You know the feeling when your hands are so cold that it almost feels too hot? I think that’s Berlin to me :)

Q: You have a master’s degree in philosophy, but today you’re focused on your own studio, organizing events, and building communities. How did that transition happen? And do you ever see yourself returning to philosophy in some way?

A: I was always into academia, or more specifically, researching. Although academia and the event, production and PR world that I operate in may feel disconnected from what I studied, the critical thinking I learned has helped me so much in building TOURIST, always staying curious and never stopping questioning things.

"The critical thinking I learned has helped me so much in building TOURIST, always staying curious and never stopping questioning things."

Q: You seem to have an incredible amount of energy, for work, travel, and constantly connecting with people. Is that simply how you experience the world, or is staying busy also a way of avoiding loneliness?

I’m quite a hyperactive person and have always been like that. I definitely enjoy being surrounded by people and learning through socialising, but I also think that, deep down, staying busy is an avoidance mechanism connected to some of my past experiences, but well, we live and learn <3

Q: You collaborate with many creative people. What qualities do you value most in collaborators, and how do you decide which projects are worth your time?

A: TOURIST started as an extension of my close friends and network, so the collaborations I enjoy the most are still the ones with my close circle, the ones that actually don’t feel like work :)

Q: Everyone has their own ways of escaping reality or resetting. What are yours? Where do you go—physically or mentally—when you need to disconnect?

My reset is doing sports. I just came back from a phone-free hike in Slovenia, and even though, as a business founder, it’s not easy to detach from work, physical activity is something that keeps me sane.

Q: You’re building your own ecosystem. If you could create an entirely new world from scratch, what would it look like?

A: Imagine a galaxy with billions of stars, each holding their very own social microcosms of skills and interests. An interconnected system of shared values, creative exploration, and collaboration, which elevates the feeling of belonging to a wide-spread yet intertwined community 🌀