Video Profile of Bircan Ünver:

A TURKISH EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA

PRODUCER BİRCAN ÜNVER, CELEBRATES THE 30 YEARS OF COMMERCIAL-FREE VOLUNTEER-BASED TELEVISION PROGRAMS AT QPTV

Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

— Dedicated to “Respectful and in Loving Memory of Aliye Ak Aydagül“*, Founder-Producer of Voice of Anatolia (1936 – 2004)

Greetings to you ALL…
 
[LMGlobal.Org – 09/25/2022] I am Bircan Ünver, an Independent, Commercial-Free, and Volunteer based in-house producer at QPTV since January 1992.

We ALL have some potential, interest in specific areas, dreams, and instincts that go along with it…

As a freelance Art Journalist in #Türkiye since 1984 along with my undergraduate education at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in İstanbul (graduated in 1999); a combination of these, I had a dream to learn English first and become a TV producer, specifically on Arts & Culture at that time.

Especially, my interviews with numerous famous Turkish visual artists over 70-80 years, who were passing away back-to-back without a documentary on each of them were a huge loss.
In this line, famous Turkish sculptor Zühtü Müridoğlu, famous painters Ali Avni Çelebi, and Mahmut Cûda inspired me in this line based on my interviews with each during the late 1980s…

Yet, we only had two state television channels, one of those dedicated to arts and culture. 
Despite my art documentary proposal, couldn’t get a result…

Even before becoming an art journalist, I always wanted to learn English… On the other hand, my life’s graphic hasn’t been linear one…

* * *

Fast forward, my first journey in America started in Los Angeles.

While I was there in Fall-1989, I learned about QPTV in New York. This was one of the key reasons to visit NewYork.

I visited QPTV during this time for the first time and met the late Aliye Ak Aydagül, producer of the Voice of Anatolia weekly series at QPTV at the time.
I’ve obtained basic information and registered for field production.
 
Eventually, I completed the Field Production including my group project with Turkish painter Ülkü Ünsoy, and an individual project with another Turkish painter, Ertuğrul Ateş.
 
In particular, I’ve shot my very first field production project with Ertuğrul Ateş both in Turkish and English as two different programs, which also has set out my next 30 years approach that I’ve been producing both in English and Turkish since then.

At the same time, my majority of the programs have been in English due to living in Queens, New York City as being the most diverse county in the U.S. 

When I’ve looked at my first ten years at QPTV, produced and cable-casted programs are mainly on Turkish artists, major temporary art exhibits from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts and MoMa along with on Global Peace, Non-Profit World, and the United Nations.

– 1992 – 2002 – A selected list of titles from the first decade scroll-downs over the video.

Highlights from 2002-2012

My second decade at QPTV was started with the launching of the #LightMillenniumTV Series on January 13, 2000, via the “On the Twentieth Century: NAZIM HIKMET” documentary program as a monthly series.  This was the very first of the monthly series in that year. 

By the time, The Light Millennium’s vision and the concept were already introduced by me through the world wide web in August 1999, which was officially formed under the U.S. Non-Profit Law as a tax-exempt 501-c-3 charitable organization based in New York effective on July 17, 2001.
 
Launching the #LightMillenniumTV in 2000, after the introduction of the Light Millennium organization’s vision through the world wide web in August 1999, eventually, I was able to form The Light Millennium Organization officially on July 17, 2001.

With a newly gained capacity, The Light Millennium TV Series has acted as the backbone of the organization along with online publishing and public events.

The programs have been diverse both in content as well as demographic participation that encouraged public participation through Open Calls from all walks of life…

Highlights from 2012 – 2022

In the third decade from 2012 to 2022, I’ve focused through the Light Millennium TV Series and Specials on the both UN Millennium Development Goals, Peace Treaty of Lausanne, MDGs & Ataturk, Freedom of Expression, Genetically Modified Food, Armenian issue, Ambassador Profiles, UN Days, Poetry, UN 2030 Agenda / Global Goals and in connection with both UN NGO Conferences and UN Days…
 
Further, I’ve been also hosting #LightMillenniumTV studio-based programs since 2007.

Through The Light Millennium’s association (North America) with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (formerly, UN Department of Public Information) as an NGO and a charitable multi-media organization in 2005; I’ve also produced numerous programs based on the UNNGO Conferences, Millennium Development Goals, Ambassador Profiles and in recent years, in connection with the UN’s 2030 Development Agenda – Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this context, through A Turkish Experience in America video-profile, I celebrate and mark my 30th anniversary as an independent “in-house” producer at QPTV, along with, one of the longest terms “content providers” to QPTV since 1992. 
 
Before 1992, I’ve received both Studio and Field Production Certificates from Queens Public Television, Flushing, New York. Follow by forming The Light Millennium organization with 501-c-3 tax-exempt status (officially in July 2001) and launching the #LightMillenniumTV Series on January 13, 2000; have compiled and allocated all of my works including writings, interviews, public events, and television programs under The Light Millennium, Inc. Charitable Global Human Advancement Organization (#LMGlobalOrg and #LMTV). (The Organization “Amended and Broadened” its Certificate of Incorporation effective on December 17, 2019, which includes the name change in the second portion of the organization.)

In conclusion; As an advocate for “freedom of expression” that is not limited to “press freedom” and “commercial-free” citizen media or “nonprofit media”, I’ve been able to write, develop, shoot, direct, edit, host, schedule, promote, and publicly made available divers and inclusive over 170 original television programs as a volunteer-based / dedicated community media producer at QPTV since 1992.

I’ve found one of the most empowering acts is starting with a basic idea and developing it into a television program without any restriction or censorship of that idea and producing and making it publicly available, which has empowered me and provided opportunities on the ground of the 1st Amendment of the United States along with, all these programs also support the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article #19.

In a nutshell: This is a Turkish Experience in the United States, in which, I am proud of what I have accomplished as a dedicated volunteer-based producer for over 30 years through QPTV and beyond.

THANK YOU for your kind attention and for being a part of my 30 years of experience.

(“A Turkish Experience in America” titled video-profile has been broadcasting through QPTV channels since the first week of October 2022.)

Bircan Ünver (1959) is a Turkish native and holds a Master’s (M.A.) degree in Media Studies from the New School University (1999, NYC) and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (1988, İstanbul).
She is the author of four Turkish books in print: “En Kutsalı Yaratmak” (1995, 2022), “Sanatın Labirentlerinde…” (2016), “Işık Yollarında” (2017, Poetry), and “Bin Yıl Daha…” (2020).

Web profile of the Producer

Please check out VIDEOGRAPHY of the Producer along with the MASTER LIST to the referred programs through www.lmglobal.org and www.vimeo.com/LightMillenniumTV.

[*] DISCLOSURE: During the 1990-1992, from time to time Bircan contributed to the Voice of Anatolia (Turkish Weekly Series) as an interviewer, art director, editor, anchor, crew, and/or collaborated with late Aliye Ak Aydagül (1936 – 2004), founder-producer of Voice of Anatolia (1998-2004) at QPTV. 
The below-listed programs and time frame were parallel to her training courses on the field and studio productions, along with, off-line manual editing at QPTV, Flushing, New York. 
1990-1992 | Voice of Anatolia – ALİYE AK AYDAGÜL
1990 – Balkan Naci Islimyeli, a studio interview with the artist in Turkish, 20 minutes, 1990, prepared and hosted by Bircan Ünver for the Voice of Anatolia, cable-casted on QPTV, channel #57
1992 – Bedri Baykam, an interview during the artist’s exhibition, in Turkish, 20 minutes, 1992, prepared and hosted by Bircan Ünver for the Voice of Anatolia, Produced by Aliye Ak, cable-casted on QPTV, channel #57
1992 – Murat Ozcan, a studio interview, 20 minutes, Turkish, 1992, prepared and hosted by Bircan Ünver for the Voice of Anatolia, Produced by Aliye Ak, cable-casted on QPTV, channel #57.
1992 – A thousand Color From Turkey: Mustafa Pilevneli”, 45 minutes, Turkish, 1992, Co-produced with Aliye Ak, and edited by Bircan Ünver, cable-casted on QPTV, channel #57

Video Credits:
Written, Produced, Directed & Edited by Bircan Ünver
Introduction, Camera and Teleprompter by Oswald Williams;
Studio Manager, Lighting Director & Audio by Rene Valdivia

#LightMillenniumTV Channel through #Vimeo> https://vimeo.com/channels/LightMillenniumTV
And: www.vimeo.com/LMTV

Hashtags: #BircanÜnver, #LightMillenniumTV #QPTV #LMTV cabletv #AliyeAkAydagül #AliyeAk #VoiceOfAmerica #TurkishExperienceInAmerica #CommunityMedia #FreedomOfExpression #TheFirstAmendment #UDHR75 #Article19 #CommercialFreeTV #NonProfitMedia #LMGlobalOrg #NGO #Queens  #NewYork #video #experience #America #television #UNWithCivilSociety #GlobalGoals #UNDays #Volunteerism

Social Media – Linkedin@Bircan Unver | @The Light Millennium
Facebook@bircan.unver.35 | @lightmillennium
Twitter@bircanunver | @lightmillennium
Instragam@unverbircan | @lightmillennium

–– This page is updated on October 29, 2022.

www.lmglobal.org