these business ventures, gis cardinal principle was contribution to "a healthier society". Starting with his first business venture in the 1940s, Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı selected the most advanced technology available to manufacture products of international standards. Civic involvement and philanthropy In addition to contributing to the development of Turkish industry, Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı sought to promote and assist the development of his country's civil society. His activities in this area included the establishment of educational institutions, professional business organisations, research institutes, cultural foundations and scholarship funds. In 1954, he helped to found the Istanbul University's Institute of Business Administration, and the Turkish Management Association. In 1961, he established the Economic and Social Studies Conference Board, which would later become the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, one of the country's first independent strategic research institutes. Eczacıbaşı was the first president of the Turkish Educational Foundation, established in 1966 to provide scholarships for university and graduate students. He was also a member of the Middle East Technical University's Board of Trustees during the 1960s and a member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Institute in the 1970s. He was a principal founding member of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı used to say: "The meaning of life is best comprehended through the arts. The values which most exalt humankind are culture and the arts." Throughout his life, he saw to it that every new business venture was complemented by an additional contribution to culture, science, arts and education. Today, the Eczacıbaşı Group has become a unique symbol in Turkey of the bridge that can be forged between culture and private enterprise. Eczacıbaşı was one of the principal founders of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and the Arts, which was established in 1973 on the 50th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. With the aim of transforming Istanbul into an "international capital of culture", the foundation initiated the annual International Istanbul Arts Festivals. Twenty years later, in recognition of the success of these festivals, UNESCO awarded the foundation the International Arts and Culture Trophy. The "Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation", established by him in 1978, provides scholarships for talented musicians, annual cinema and graphic arts awards and grants to public schools and institutes for scientific research. It also publishes books by distinguished authors and is developing a collection of modern Turkish paintings. The Eczacibasi