Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Špela Levičnik Oblak
A few days ago I participated in a very important event “Marka Festivali” (Brand Festival) in the Turkish capital Ankara. Slovenian Advertising Chamber was invited to present the Golden Drum to the numerous Turkish experts in the advertising industry, and invite them to participate in it in large numbers and to submit their work for the competition part. It was a great opportunity! I accepted the challenge on behalf of the Slovenian Advertising Chamber to introduce the Golden Drum, through conversation with two interesting representatives of the Turkish advertising industry.
I heard the latest news about new bombings in Istanbul, about the troubled political situation, and … I don’t know, it seemed to me that it would be good to answer the call and with our visit to show understanding and give them support.
So I embarked on a journey with two exceptional people that I could say have an infinite flow of positive energy. With Mojca Briščik, President of the Golden Drum and Mojca Medea Majhen, CEO of the Golden Drum.
Ankara greeted us with the first flakes of snow, chilling cold, extraordinary culinary delights … but the best was yet to come. The next day, our round table was scheduled for 13.30h, so we went there at noon to greet our hosts. First, Mrs. Günseli Özen, an agile ambassador of the Golden Drum for a long time, winner of the Hall of Fame award and a true lady. Then we met with our interlocutors: Cuneyt Devrim is a partner and director of the agency Project House Havas, and Kadir Inan, managing director of the agency Median Turgul Grafis Reklam (DDB).
Waiting for the start of the round table we talked about everything, about the situation in the industry, the desire of people to get out of the comfort zone, not to be afraid and to meet and learn something new. Cuneyt helped me pronounce his name with a simple advice: just remember the English pronunciation of June 8th … Hm? dʒuːn eighth. Great. We began to talk about the rhythm of life, about navigating between jobs which still inspire them after all these years, and even the fear that still never makes them dispirited. Fatigue was visible on Kadyrov’s face. During our conversation he admitted that he had slept only an hour because he followed his dear friend to the hospital for surgery. They spent the night talking and exchanging positive thoughts to help overcome the crisis after a devastating diagnosis. I was full of gratitude to these people, whom I actually never met, and to whom it was important to come to a round table on which they would talk about the benefits of socializing in the distant, small Slovenia. I informed them about the questions and topics that we should talk about. They agreed and suggested that they answer in Turkish language as it will be easier to present their thoughts to the Turkish audience. The speakers were mostly local people. Understanding the language of the audience prompted them to correspond in their mother tongue. I agreed because I was told that I would get a headset so I could communicate with my guests more easily.
In the midst of the conversation, the polite moderator warned us that we had 15 minutes until the start of our talk. When I peeked in the hall, it took my breath away. A huge hall with the big stage and the capacity for 1,500 people. In my mind I was trying to soothe my anxiety, caused by my thoughts that our topic couldn’t be interesting for such a numerous audience. But, it was.
When we stepped on the stage, I looked at the hall, which was pretty full. There were about 900 people there. I don’t know if I had ever previously spoken before such a large audience. While my microphone was being set up, the moderator of the program was already announcing us. It had begun. I began my presentation differently than I originally planned, prompted by our conversations beforehand, and the large audience that was eagerly expecting to hear what we have to say. I started talking about the courage it took 23 years ago, in the small Slovenia, for such an important festival as the Golden Drum to be born. This was the result of a passion for advertising, courage and love for creative people. Thank you Jure and Meta, thank you everyone who collaborated and co-created the Golden Drum.
I probably presented the Festival carried by my emotions, judging from the applause that followed. Then I sat down together with my guests, and at that moment I realized that I was asking them questions in English, and that they correspond in Turkish, while my headset for translation was not in my ears. Surprisingly, there was no panic, we laughed, and even though I did not understand a single word, we understood each other. I believed that they weren’t just talking about the weather. And they weren’t.
Gönül diliyle konuşmak. Open heart. That’s why everything went well. We all came there to support each other – and we did!
Thank you Cuyent and Kadir for their cordiality and an exceptional round table in which I did not understand a single word, but I understood everything. See you in October in Ljubljana!