A conference that grew up on a ferry
Strait Talk started in 2023 as forty people on a chartered boat between Karaköy and Kadıköy. Three editions later, it still ends on the water.
Our story
Small on purpose, honest by default
We wanted a conference where speakers show the messy middle of their work, not just the launch video. Where breaks are long enough to actually meet someone. Where the venue tells you something about the city you flew into.
We cap tickets at 1,800, keep talks to thirty minutes and never sell keynote slots. Partners fund scholarships and the closing ferry, and that is all they get on stage.
2023
First edition, on a ferry
03
Editions so far
1,800
Seats, and not one more
40%
Speakers from outside Europe
What we hold on to
01
Show the work
Process over polish. We ask every speaker to bring at least one thing that did not work.
02
Both shores
Half our lineup comes from outside the usual conference circuit, every single year.
03
Room to talk
Forty minute breaks, long lunches and evenings on the quay. The hallway is a stage too.
04
Care for people
A real code of conduct, a quiet room and staff trained to act on what you report.
The crew
Run by six people and a lot of volunteers
We are designers and producers based in Istanbul. Each year around eighty volunteers help us run the halls, the quay and the ferry.
Volunteer with us
→