Onur Baştürk for Hurriyet
Do you remember, I wrote on Monday that I was very impressed by a promotional film about Angola, one of Africa’s lesser-known countries, which is frequently shown on CNN? It turns out that the film was prepared by: Ceren Çerçiler. We first exchanged emails, then spoke on the phone. The story of Çerçiler, who lived in Angola for a full four years, is so original, adventurous, and inspiring… Here is her remarkable Angola journey in her own words: HELLO TO ANGOLA AT 25! The company I was working for in Spain was creating country image projects. After Indonesia and Tanzania, they sent me to Angola. However, the Angolan Presidency did not find the project sufficient. My company did not want to change it either. At that point, I received an offer to carry out the project on my own in Angola. Despite all my family’s objections, I moved there alone in 2005, at just 25 years old! How did those four years in Angola pass? Some days, I would meet the Princess of Spain or the Vice President of the World Bank in a home setting. Other days, street children would carry buckets of water to my apartment—because water cuts were very frequent! In Angola, living without a car is almost impossible. You must have a driver. Every day, you also have your security check whether there is enough fuel in the generator. Otherwise, you may be left in the dark and without water! Sometimes banks don’t function, and you can’t withdraw money. Traffic can be very difficult. But apart from that, if I was able to live there, anyone can live there. In fact, it is a wonderful country in terms of tourism, but unfortunately tourism is not strong due to the lack of hotels. However, everything will change within five years. HOW WAS THE IDEA OF THE PROMOTIONAL FILM BORN? The concept of the advertisement came from what I felt when I first arrived in Angola. I stayed because I believed in Angola. That is why we gave the message “I believe.” Thanks to this campaign, 800 investors entered the country. While a country like Angola, with a poor image, can become impressive through a single media campaign, it is very unfortunate that a large and established country like Turkey still does not have a campaign that can truly influence people and help them understand it.
Do you remember, I wrote on Monday that I was very impressed by a promotional film about Angola, one of Africa’s lesser-known countries, which is frequently shown on CNN?
It turns out that the film was prepared by: Ceren Çerçiler. We first exchanged emails, then spoke on the phone.
The story of Çerçiler, who lived in Angola for a full four years, is so original, adventurous, and inspiring… Here is her remarkable Angola journey in her own words:
HELLO TO ANGOLA AT 25!
The company I was working for in Spain was creating country image projects. After Indonesia and Tanzania, they sent me to Angola. However, the Angolan Presidency did not find the project sufficient. My company did not want to change it either.
At that point, I received an offer to carry out the project on my own in Angola. Despite all my family’s objections, I moved there alone in 2005, at just 25 years old!
How did those four years in Angola pass?
Some days, I would meet the Princess of Spain or the Vice President of the World Bank in a home setting.
Other days, street children would carry buckets of water to my apartment—because water cuts were very frequent!
In Angola, living without a car is almost impossible. You must have a driver. Every day, you also have your security check whether there is enough fuel in the generator. Otherwise, you may be left in the dark and without water!
Sometimes banks don’t function, and you can’t withdraw money. Traffic can be very difficult. But apart from that, if I was able to live there, anyone can live there.
In fact, it is a wonderful country in terms of tourism, but unfortunately tourism is not strong due to the lack of hotels. However, everything will change within five years.
HOW WAS THE IDEA OF THE PROMOTIONAL FILM BORN?
The concept of the advertisement came from what I felt when I first arrived in Angola. I stayed because I believed in Angola.
That is why we gave the message “I believe.”
Thanks to this campaign, 800 investors entered the country.
While a country like Angola, with a poor image, can become impressive through a single media campaign, it is very unfortunate that a large and established country like Turkey still does not have a campaign that can truly influence people and help them understand it.
