In this episode, we talked about "Ankara Expat", which aims to be a bridge between different cultures in Ankara. In order to fulfill this bridge duty, they organize various events. To learn more about Ankara Expat, you can listen to our Q&A podcast with Deputy Director Merve Zeyneb Ilhan.
ENTELANKARA: What is Ankara Expat? When and how was it founded?
Merve Z. Ilhan: Ankara Expat is a community-based initiative that is working to create a place for expats in Ankara while simultaneously bridging the gap between locals and expats in the city. Ankara Expat was founded by Syed Fakhir in 2022. He is 20 years old but has spent most of his life as an expat, mainly in Dubai and neighboring countries. He also had a particular interest in arts, culture, and entertainment. So, he created Ankara Expat to organize such events while also celebrating diversities and different backgrounds. In such a short span of time, Ankara Expat has organized events in various fields.
ENTELANKARA: You stated that Ankara Expat aims to bridge the gap between expats and locals in Ankara. Who should we think of when we say expats?
Merve Z. Ilhan: An expatriate is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional or skilled worker who intends to return to their country of origin. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and others who have chosen to live outside their native country.
When we look at our community in Ankara Expat, there are foreigners from various backgrounds. Some are here for educational reasons, some are here for work. One thing that they have in common is that they really love Ankara. Or at least the ones that I have met.
ENTELANKARA: What is your role in Ankara Expat. What are you doing in this organization?
Merve Z. Ilhan: My role as Assistant Event Director at Ankara Expat is to provide key support to the Event Director in all aspects of event planning and management.
This includes venue selection, creating programs, coordinating logistics, creating event concepts, themes and program schedules that align with our vision. I also contribute to event promotion and marketing efforts by utilizing social media platforms and creating engaging content. On the day of the event, I ensure that everything runs smoothly and after each event, I help evaluate the success and gather feedback for future improvements.
ENTELANKARA: You organized events together with some embassies in Ankara. What were these events? What was the feedback you received from the interaction of different cultures?
Merve Z. Ilhan: We have been collaborating with different embassies and partners in our events. Ankara Expat also launched a new long-running series called Expat Dialogues in collaboration with Ka Atolye. In these conversations, professionals from various fields such as writers, artists, and musicians share their work and experiences.
Ankara Expat collaborated with Ka Atolye & Mexican Embassy to organize an event featuring esteemed author Öze Yavuz, known for the book "Mexican Myths” for Expat Dialogue #1 | Artist Talk in March 2023. Attendees were immersed in a captivating journey through ancient Mexican creation myths, brought to life with vivid descriptions, illustrations, and Öze's original paintings. The event received support from the Mexican Embassy and gained widespread acclaim, providing a unique opportunity for attendees to explore the rich cultural heritage of ancient Mexico. Our team played a pivotal role in its success, showcasing Ankara Expat's meticulous planning and dedication in creating an engaging and enlightening experience for the community.
Very recently we organized Expat Soirée: A French Cinematic Delight in June 2023. Ankara Expat collaborated with Institut Français, under the framework of the French Embassy, to organize a captivating screening of the film 'Délicieux'. The event, known as Expat Soirée, brought together the expat community and film enthusiasts to experience the magic of French cinema. Attendees enjoyed the enchanting film with English subtitles, immersing themselves in the beauty of French culture and shared moments.
ENTELANKARA: Together with the Ministry of Tourism, General Directorate of Cinema, you organized the "Expat Film Festival". You also organize various film screenings and film reading events. How do you think cinema plays a role in the fusion of different cultures? How would you evaluate the impact of the silver screen?
Merve Z. Ilhan: Yes as you have said we organized the Expat Film Festival 2022 in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, General Directorate of Cinema, Cermodern, and Ankara Expat. The five-day film festival showcased award-winning Turkish movies with English subtitles. The event was highly successful, with fully booked screenings and 700 attendees per screening.
Other than the ones I have mentioned, we have also organized events like Reading The Cinema in collaboration with Ka Atolye, which featured a talk by Wen Chi Ölçel on Yasujiro Ozu's impact on Japanese and world cinema. These events provide platforms for engaging discussions and enriching experiences for our audience.
Personally I have a masters degree in film studies, and definitely believe in the power of
cinema where is transcends geographical boundaries allowing people to connect and see different perspectives. Cinema helps to break stereotypes, can encourage dialogue and empathy. It also allows the members of our community to be in a social engagement and connect with each other. Which is why we try to collaborate with different embassies and partners and screen individual countries national films.
ENTELANKARA: There are culture and arts activities that you organize in partnership not only with official institutions but also with independent organizations in Ankara. Can you tell us about these? Are you getting a response to your efforts?
Merve Z Ilhan: While we have explored different types of events before noticing we found greater sense of passion & success in organizing Arts & cultural events. We also did arrange parties such as Melodic Techno at The Q or Halloween party at Hilton but we didn't got a good response from them & personally speaking we didn't enjoy organizing them either. But we are interested & we love organizing Jazz concerts / Community Jam sessions featuring our community talent which were a success. One example is The Expat Jam which we arranged just last month where we gave our community members a platform to express their talent. Simultaneously our arts & cultural events so far has been successful which is noticed by good number of attendees & heavy interest by our community members.
ENTELANKARA: What is the "AE Unity Program" and "Expat Artist Unite"? What kind of activities are carried out in Turkey within these programs?
Merve Z. Ilhan: The AE Unity Program is a community-based platform that helps expats integrate into Turkish society. Anyone can apply to be part of it, and it's free to join. Once we approve their request, we give our members a Community Pass, which they can use to get discounts on our event tickets and, not just at our events, but also at some hospitals and clinics in Ankara. The program is also involved in helping expats in various ways and celebrating diversity. We often organize exclusive events. Unfortunately, the AE Unity Program is not funded by any NGO; we spend our own resources and time to keep this project and community running.
Expat Artist Unite is an extended framework of the AE Unity Program. It is a community of expats who are artists, painters, sculptors, writers, photographers, or from any other creative field. Since Ankara Expat is growing rapidly in the fields of arts and culture, we wanted to support artists from our own community. We organize exhibitions, workshops, and provide a platform where they can network and grow in their respective fields. It's an initiative aimed at fostering collaboration and empowerment among expat artists.
ENTELANKARA: We leave the last words to you. What would you like to say about what you have done, what you will do and Ankara?
Merve Z. Ilhan: We will definitely have more events involved with arts and culture. We are always looking out for new collaborations. Personally, I have also been an expat abroad in countries like Ireland and UAE for many years. So I know the feeling of wanting to belong somewhere, or meet likeminded people. We want to offer that to our community as we all join in cultural activities, share experience and understand each other better. We all have a lot in common, including Ankara. So I can not think of a better way than to start a dialogue with cultural events and art.
I would like to invite our listeners to our ankara.expat Instgaram page to get more information about our events and our community. I would also like to state that we will be happy to see those who want to participate in our events.
Many thanks to ENTEL Ankara for the opportunity to talk about our community and what we will do in the future and everyone who listened to this podcast.
You can follow their Instagram account to follow Ankara Expat events. See you in the next section.