When I arrived in Houston, home to the GFN conference where the competition presentations were to be held on Sunday evening, I was filled with mixed feelings. First and foremost, it was a place I’d visited intermittently from 2003 – 2006, where we endured difficult months for my father’s cancer treatment, but thankfully, it ended well. I knew Houston. The city is made up of scattered centers. For example, the “medical center,” the hospital district where all the world’s leading hospitals are located (MD Anderson, Methodist Hospital, etc.). Another center is Downtown (city center), which embodies the classic American spirit. Then there’s the Galleria district, which I think has the most positive energy and is my favorite in Houston. Named after the Galleria Mall, this area offers a wide variety of shops, retail spaces, and restaurants. The fact that our hotel is in the Galleria district was an added motivation.
Don’t confuse this original Galleria with ours. The Galleria Mall, which opened years ago in Ataköy, Istanbul, is the first mall of its size in Türkiye. Unfortunately, the name and concept were also stolen from the Galleria in Houston. Just so you know, I was in a city where my father had recovered from cancer. While Houston isn’t my favorite city, it always had a positive image. And in such a positive atmosphere, I was attending the Global Foodbanking Network’s (GFN) annual major conference (Foodbanking Leadership Institute) for the first time in my life. Moreover, the GFN, which has been operating since the 1960s, was holding its first Innovation Award at this conference, and we were among the eight finalists in this award competition.
Eight finalists from six countries
The Innovation Award, to be held on Monday, featured presentations from leading food banks like the UK, Singapore, Argentina, Colombia, and Israel. The next day, I woke up at 4:30 a.m., tired from the road and jet-lagged. I worked on projects in Türkiye until 7:30 a.m. After a quick breakfast, I quickly got ready and caught the 8:30 a.m. bus. On the bus, I met two high-ranking officials from the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock. The person sitting next to me, and the first person I spoke with, was a manager in Taiwan from Carrefour, a company that donates substantially to food banks, like the one in Türkiye. During our conversation, I explained our Support Project, which consists of Support Market and Support HR. He was very impressed with the model and asked, “Why don’t other food banks do this?” Then, before I could say anything, he said, “My vote goes to you.” I was surprised. I didn’t think everyone at the conference, which had various agendas, was focused on this award. I was thrilled to see all the attendees eagerly anticipating the projects competing for the innovation award.
It was 9:15 a.m. when we arrived at the Houston Food Bank, America’s largest food bank. Everyone took their seats in the conference hall. At my table were the managers of food banks from Colombia, China, Taiwan, and Portugal. A key official from the World Bank, who manages a program designed to combat poverty, was also at our table. Opening remarks began early in the morning, and we delved into the details of the Food Banking Leadership Institute event we were kicking off, reviewing the program. They particularly highlighted the Innovation Award in the afternoon several times, emphasizing its importance for food banking. My excitement was immense.
Exterior view of the Houston Food Bank
Inside the Houston Food Bank
Inside view of the Food Banking Leadership Institute event
Afterward, we were given information about food banking activities in various parts of the world. Lunch was served, and finally, it was time for the presentations for the Innovation Award. Before the presentations, I distributed a printout of our presentation to everyone. Some of the people I distributed to turned out to be our competitors, jokingly teasing us, “You can distribute these, but in the end, we’ll win.” We had some sweet exchanges. Somehow, the event photographer captured these moments incredibly well. Here are the photos from those moments:
While distributing a printout of our presentation,
A Latin American participant was reviewing our presentation. We prepared two versions: English and Spanish. Naturally, I distributed the Spanish version to the Latin Americans
After distributing the presentation, I was chatting with the Food Bank managers representing Mexico. I never thought I’d be speaking so much Spanish in the United States.
The moment the Argentinian Food Bank manager said, “You’re distributing these things, but we’re going to win.”
Before the presentation, one of the GFN executives half-jokingly teased me, “You know it won’t be longer than five minutes, right? We’ll cut it short.” He was joking, but he only added to the pressure on me. Our video was already 3 minutes and 40 seconds long. How I was going to explain everything in the remaining time was a complete mystery.
The moment when Anthony, the GFN manager, jokingly warned me while I was distributing the presentations
Mishaps and Time Constraints
We started the presentation at 1:00 PM. Everyone presented in order. I was in the third row. I spoke for 30 seconds at the front. Then I showed the video. I had less than a minute left. Of course, I had to finish my speech before I could say many things I wanted to say.
While making my presentation
I sat down, grumbling, thinking my presentation wasn’t what I wanted and that no one seemed to understand anything about our Support Project. I was gutted because I couldn’t explain it as well as I wanted due to time constraints. Our video was truly beautiful, but its function was to psychologically prepare the audience by revealing the necessity of the HR process and the benefits it provides. Because we didn’t cover the system’s operation in the video and saved the final blow for the presentation, the process of explaining and persuading fell victim to a lack of time. For insight, I’d like to share this wonderful campaign video:
https://vimeo.com/207946628 (Vimeo password: 123)
In my opinion, the UK made the best use of its five-minute presentation, delivering a very effective presentation. They explained the technology and systems they developed in a clear, comprehensible manner within five minutes, without wasting any time.
We also encountered other setbacks. For example, we submitted our video to GFN in two stages. The first version we shared upfront did not yet support subtitles for English. The second, which we later submitted, was the final version with Spanish subtitles added. Despite emphasizing that these would be used, the video was accidentally shown without subtitles, and most of the Latin Americans, who made up nearly half of the food banks there, did not understand anything. The relevant manager apologized profusely for this mistake, but it was too late.
Another disadvantage was that many people there knew each other from previous years’ conferences. I didn’t know anyone.
The Difference Between Voting Now or Later
After the presentations, an announcement was made: “These ballot boxes will remain here for three days. You can vote now or in the coming days.” Naturally, all those with Mediterranean blood or those close to the region—namely, us Turks, Portuguese, Bulgarians, Latin Americans, and Spaniards—went and voted immediately. 70-75% of the people voted directly, while the remaining few kept their ballots for better evaluation.
When I arrived in Houston, wondering if we could win, as I couldn’t fully explain our concept and many people voted immediately, my feelings shifted to “I guess we can’t win anymore.” In my opinion, when all the factors were considered, winning was virtually impossible.
Therefore, on Monday evening, I told the team in Türkiye, who were eagerly awaiting news from me, that they shouldn’t raise their expectations too high. In my messages, I always said, “Being among the eight finalists is also an achievement; don’t expect us to win in the first year,” which, indeed, was a significant achievement.
I also explained the setbacks to those involved in the campaign, conveying the message that winning was virtually impossible. Everyone lowered their expectations to zero. I believe I implemented the right strategy in terms of perception management. When I got to the hotel on Monday evening, I thought to myself, “Serhan, none of your successes in life have been a complete disaster. You fought hard for them all. In fact, the harder the road to achieving your successes, the more glorious the victory. So don’t give up the fight. Just give it your all. If it doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world. At least you’ll say you did your best and it wasn’t fate.”
One-on-one persuasion rounds
I went to bed with these thoughts and woke up the next day with a bang. I had managed to motivate myself. And Houston’s positive atmosphere benefited me. As I said, the city held a special place in my heart, and everyone there was well-intentioned and nice, with positive energy. That’s what you’d expect from people who run food banks. Those who do this work aren’t concerned with making money; they genuinely want to help people. Their positive energy had rubbed off on me. I was filled with joy.
I had entered an environment where I could put everything aside and be myself. Unlike in business, I didn’t need to pull out my battle shields. On the contrary, I was in high spirits. When the real Serhan emerged, my communication skills soared to their peak. As I had a series of pleasant and engaging conversations with the participants, I always asked the following question: “Did you vote?”
To those who said they didn’t vote, my second question was, “Did you understand our Support HR concept?” Everyone I asked said, “I didn’t.” The outcome was exactly as I envisioned. Despite our meticulous preparation, we couldn’t fully explain ourselves to people due to the 5-minute time limit. When we reached this point, I immediately said, “Let me explain our concept to you right away.” I explained our Support Market and Support HR programs in detail to each of them for 10-15 minutes. I detailed HR’s relationship with food banking and emphasized sustainability. Everyone I spoke with said, “These are great ideas; we’d love to implement them too.” To those who said this, I put aside all politeness and brazenly said, “If you like our HR integration concept, then you can show it with your vote.”
During the event, I spoke with Chinese and Mexican delegates who explained the Support Project in detail to the director of the Italian Food Bank and the French director of FEBA (European Food Banks Association).
And the winner is…
Everyone I told this to immediately said, “I’m glad,” and went and voted for us. Apparently, those with Mediterranean roots were immediately voting with a classic sense of impatience, while those from the Far East were saying, “Let me keep this ballot in my pocket, let me think about it a bit more, and then vote.” In other words, cultural differences played a significant role in the GFN’s election. Therefore, most of the non-voters I convinced were from the Far East.
Ultimately, I regained my composure within the week. Still, I didn’t have much hope. The announcement came.
I prepared myself psychologically until the announcement, and to avoid disappointment, I kept repeating to myself, “Another Food Bank will win. Don’t prepare yourself as if you’re going to win. Being here and being among the eight finalists is also a success.”
Then, when Lisa Moon, the GFN president who announced the winner, said, “The winner is no other than TIDER, Türkiye,” I didn’t fully grasp the situation. I gestured to a friend nearby, “What do you mean, us?” Then applause broke out. Still in disbelief, I stood up and walked toward the GFN president. This astonishment continued until I received the award. Receiving it, I suddenly regained my composure and returned to normal. We were taking a picture together, my hands and feet shaking with excitement. I was truly in disbelief. The short video below, captured by my Argentinian friend, captures this moment better than words can convey my initial surprise, from the moment the announcement was made until I walked to the podium:
This award truly means a great deal. I’d like to share them with you in detail:
This award truly means a great deal. I’d like to share them with you in detail:
We made GFN history
We won the Global Foodbanking Network’s (GFN) first Innovation Award. This marks the first event to receive the award, which has been operating since the 1960s and will continue to present this award for years to come. The Global Foodbanking Network has shared this announcement with food banks worldwide:http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6f22e23aad1b28a5fe0f633a1&id=ac4e5e3e55&e=abc9843c5c
The innovation was in the ‘sustainability’ solution.
TIDER’s Support HR program won this award. Contrary to popular belief, those who supported it were those operating within the typical food banking model. This was a very important response, because everyone agreed that “just giving isn’t enough; food banking needs to be made sustainable.” Sustainability was the most important issue I emphasized in my conversations with the participants. Anyone with a sound mind wants to achieve sustainability in matters like HR programs and waste management. Everyone understands that simply providing fish, rather than teaching how to fish, doesn’t reduce problems; in fact, it exacerbates them.
A Revolution in Social Assistance
The fact that all food banks worldwide have chosen our Support HR program is a revolutionary outcome. It heralds a transformation of the social assistance system in the future. And we, an association from Türkiye, TIDER, are spearheading this change.
A model from Türkiye to the world
It would be a piece of cake for a movement we initiated to spread to all food banks worldwide. Many organizations have requested information from me on this topic. Portugal, China, Paraguay, Taiwan, Bulgaria, and Australia have shown the most interest. Others also asked me for many details. In other words, a program initiated by a Turkish NGO is gradually gaining international recognition, and this is a first.
The Most Competent Audience and 7 Strong Competitors
A look at the participant profile revealed over 70 representatives from over 30 food banks, a prominent World Bank official, and executives from international companies. Eight valuable and important projects were finalists. Standing out among these projects and receiving the most votes from such a large audience is a significant achievement. It’s time to share this success with all those who contributed.
Thus, last week we organized an event for our employees, volunteers, donors, those in need in the district, all our supporters, and stakeholders. We all took a photo together. We are a family.
From Local to International Event
After this award, TIDER has gone beyond being a local association trying to do something on its own, to become an organization with international recognition and impact. This is a strong quality we can proudly share in any situation.
A ‘Champion’ of Thought Leadership
After receiving the award, representatives from all the food banks present wanted to take a picture with me. They call us a ‘champion organization.’ In other words, the way other food banks around the world viewed TIDER changed. We were promoted to the thought leadership category.
At one point, a Chinese delegate even approached me and asked, “Do you live on the European or Asian side of Istanbul?” Understanding what he meant, I replied, “I live on the European side, but our Support Project is on the Asian side.” He then asked, “Okay, then we Asians are taking a group photo. Would you like to join us?” I replied, “Of course, with pleasure,” to our Asian brothers and sisters who had won us the election and took my place right in the middle of the group photo.
These international achievements now place greater responsibilities on our shoulders. We will be even more enthusiastic and determined from now on as we work on the Support Market, which we will open many more with the contributions of our valued supporters, and on the Support HR, whose effectiveness is increasing daily. After accepting the award on behalf of the entire TIDER family, I will share with you my experiences both in Houston and upon my return to Türkiye next week, as well as the impact of this wonderful development in various areas. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my valued teammates, whose years of hard work have enabled us to be recognized with this meaningful award, and to everyone else who contributed. I would also like to specifically mention:
Our former Secretary General, Yasemin Uyar, who personally prepared our application for the Innovation Award; our Communications Director, Dost Kip, who personally prepared and coordinated the video and presentations; Serkan Koç, the owner of 49/51, who produced the video; Ken Dakan, who provided the English translations and voice-over in the video; Indira Barada, who provided the Spanish translations; and Ninoska Gutierrez Kırcı, my right-hand woman at the Honorary Consulate of Costa Rica, who assisted with coordination.
Finally, I would like to share photos taken during the event to help you visualize it. First, here’s a group photo of all the participants:
Those photos of all the participants participating in the Food Banking activities at the workshop:
Those photos of all the participants participating in the Food Banking activities at the workshop:
Representatives from the Bulgarian delegation were among the first to vote for us. Greetings to our neighbor.
A photo from the visit to the Galveston Food Bank.
Because I was in a good mood, I asked questions at every session at the conference. After these questions, some delegates came up to me and said, “You’re asking very intelligent questions, and thanks to you, we’re learning. Thank you.”
Two shots show the positive energy of the group, everyone is in high spirits:
A workshop was held after the conference on Social Media. My group conducted this study. I’m the one holding this post. I also came up with the campaign’s motto: “Truck to Crack Hunger.”
Austria and Israel were briefing participants on their own work.
The moment GFN President Lisa Moon and the Taiwanese delegate took a photo. I immediately asked them to correct the Turkish you noticed. I said, “Food is for animals. You should write ‘Food’.”
See you in my next article, where I’ll share the reflections of the award.
Stay well.
Tag: business world
