GLOBAL COUNCIL JOURNALISM (GJC) 2020-2023 ACTIVITY REPORT

GLOBAL JOURNALISM COUNCIL (GJC)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ACTIVITY REPORT

Founded on October 14, 2019, the board of directors of the Global Journalism Council (GJC), which took office on March 7, 2020, worked at an intense pace to achieve the goals set out in its charter despite adverse conditions such as the pandemic, political and social turmoil, and earthquakes in the 3-year period.

These include preparing reports on professional problems and finding solutions by making initiatives before authorized persons and public institutions, training programs, cooperation steps with non-governmental organizations and activities to support public diplomacy. In the process, our international activities have also been a source of pride for us, with events of cohesion, solidarity and cooperation where we came together with our colleagues.

On a national basis, through our headquarters in Ankara, our office in Istanbul and our representatives abroad in the remaining 79 provinces and 62 countries, we have worked in unity, solidarity and solidarity to achieve our goals.

During our tenure, the Turkish/English ‘Global Media’ magazine, which is the only source of income of our council, was published regularly in January and July. We would also like to thank our members who contributed content and advertisements to the publication of the magazine. In the new period, we hope that all our members will continue to contribute content and advertisements in order to continue our activities without interruption.

2020

After taking office with the general assembly held on March 7, 2020, our Board of Directors held its meetings online due to the pandemic process, curfew and severe conditions that affected the whole world after the distribution of duties and the appointment of new provincial and foreign representatives as required by the status.

During the period when all activities were suspended in Turkey, in-kind and financial contributions were provided to the families of journalists who lost their lives due to Covid19. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, we were unable to carry out our national and international activities in the first year of our term of office (2020). Despite the extraordinary circumstances, our office in Cihangir, where members of the Council in Istanbul, mainly Nationwide Media and Foreign Media, can come together, was put into service. Our Istanbul Office hosted many national and international events. GJC Istanbul Office, which has become a ‘meeting point’ for our members and journalists in Istanbul, has become a place where foreign media members working in Turkey prepare news and broadcast live. Our activities in the following two years are as follows:

2021

On February 3, 2021, the second group (15 foreign journalists) working in Turkey were taken to Karabakh, the homeland of the friendly and brotherly country Azerbaijan, which was liberated from Armenian occupation, and were given the opportunity to see what happened on the spot. Foreign journalists met with their Azerbaijani colleagues and were informed about the historical process. We were honored by the Minister of Diaspora Fuad Muradov with a certificate of gratitude for our contribution to the presentation of Azerbaijan’s just theses.

In April 2021, we organized an online conference on “The Armenian Genocide Lie” with the participation of journalists from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Showing sensitivity to the unfair practices against our colleagues in the international arena, we sent a letter of protest to the Israeli Ministry of Information due to the injury of 3 Turkish journalists, including Anadolu Agency reporters, along with hundreds of civilian Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in May 2021 during the attacks by Israeli security forces using uncontrolled force. We participated in the first symposium organized in cooperation with the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the Presidency of Religious Affairs, Erciyes University, TRT and the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA).

The foreign policy Agenda TV program, which is a project of GJC, prepared together with Benan Kepsutlu, (Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Media Council), and which aims to support the public diplomacy activities of our country, started broadcasting on Haber Global Television in May 2021 with the contributions of GJC and is still continuing.

With the end of the pandemic restrictions, we came together with all elected boards of our Council at the 1st Global Media Meeting in Alanya on July 3-5, 2021 with the participation of more than 100 local and foreign members. All boards met and evaluated professional developments. The 1st Global Media Success and Diplomacy Awards ceremony also took place.

The third group (12 foreign journalists) working in Turkey were taken to Karabakh and Shusha, the homeland lands of the friendly and brotherly country Azerbaijan, which were liberated from the Armenian occupation, in September 2021 and were given the opportunity to see what happened on the spot, and an interview with Azerbaijan Deputy President Hikmet Hajiyev was also provided.

The International Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities organized by the Faculty of Journalism of Baku State University under the slogan ‘One Nation, 6 States, One Media’ within the framework of the Media Platform of Turkish Speaking Countries was held in October 2021.

A Media Report, including the problems of the media and our suggestions for solutions, was presented to the officials of the all Turkish political parties in November 2021.

A copy of the report was also hand-delivered to Mr. Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Communications Director, at a meeting in Istanbul (December 2021).

2022

As GJC, which is sensitive to social problems, the panel on “Human rights, civil struggle against violence and social mediation”, of which we are a stakeholder with HEGEM together with 25 universities, was held in Ankara GJC headquarters conference hall on January 10, 2022.

The cooperation protocol with the Foundation for Combating Violence (HEGEM) within the scope of “Human Rights, Civil Struggle against Violence and Social Mediation Project (2021-2030)” was signed on January 11, 2022.

We also signed a cooperation agreement with Social Media and Digital Security Education Research Association (SODIMER) on January 11, 2022.

A panel on “What is happening in Kazakhstan” was organized jointly by the Sahibkiran Strategic Research Center (SASAM), Turkey-Kazakhstan Friendship Association and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Ankara at the GJC headquarters on 21 January 2022.

Within the scope of our public diplomacy activities, in cooperation with Yunus Emre Foundation, we organized meetings with Georgian journalists invited to our country in Istanbul and Ankara on 23-27 February 2022.

For the same purpose, we hosted various meetings in Istanbul and Bursa, the Capital of Culture, for Kazakhstan journalists who were invited to our country between March 28 and April 1, 2022.

In cooperation with Bahçeşehir University, the first of the certified journalism trainings at the Global Media School was successfully completed on April 25, 2022.

We organized the European Media Forum in Azerbaijan on April 25, 2022.

With the participation of the members of our Council, Artvin-Batumi Media Meeting was held on June 8-12, 2022. During the Artvin leg of the meeting, experts discussed the Anti-Disinformation Law Proposal and Digital Copyright Studies. In Batumi, Georgia, meetings were organized with Turkish and Georgian officials and business people.

We met with members of the Local Media Council in Adıyaman between June 24-26, 2022 and discussed the professional problems of local media.

In August 2022, we hosted a meeting with the Sahipkıran Strategic Research Center to discuss Turkey-Tajikistan relations.

With the participation of all elected boards and representatives of our Council, the 2nd Global Media Meeting was held in Alanya, Antalya between October 27-30, 2022. The 2nd Global Media Achievement and Diplomacy Awards ceremony was also held. TRNC President Ersin Tatar, our guest of honor, was presented with a diploma award.

The point where 6 people lost their lives as a result of the terrorist bombing on Istiklal Street in Taksim, Istanbul was visited with the members and the act of terrorism was condemned on November 22, 2022.

The first graduates of the “Field Actors Training Project to Raise Awareness on Human Rights and Combating Violence”, of which we are a stakeholder, were held in Ankara on November 25, 2022.

A ceremony was organized in Bucharest, Romania on November 28, 2022 through the GJC representation for the awarding of Turkish companies in the country.

2023

We moved our headquarters, which has been operating in a 5-storey detached building on Binektaşı Street in Ankara since its establishment, to the fourth floor of an elite plaza in Balgat, which is approximately 400 square meters. On a very meaningful day, on January 10, the working journalists’ day, we opened it with a ceremony. Since January, the GJC Headquarters has been serving with a foyer and conference hall with a ready-made infrastructure where our members and journalists from Ankara as well as many non-governmental organizations hold their events.

With the diligent work of our provincial representatives and local media members, GJC President Mehmet Ali Dim, who received the highest number of votes in the election of Anatolian Newspaper Owners in the 32nd general assembly of the Press Advertisement Agency held in Ankara on January 28, was elected as a member of the general assembly and our council was entitled to represent the Anatolian press at the highest level.

After the earthquake that affected 11 provinces in our country on February 6, 2023, which was described as the disaster of the century, we went to the region and initiatives were taken to determine the situation of our colleagues who were damaged and to meet their needs. All kinds of contributions were made to fulfill the demands of our colleagues for tents and containers, and to ensure that newspapers and televisions started broadcasting again. First, food and in-kind aid was provided to our earthquake-stricken colleagues, and then cash aid was provided with the information provided by our provincial representatives.

As required by our statute, we held local, foreign and mainstream media council meetings online on April 15, 2023. In addition to the 30 original and 13 substitute members of our assemblies, members of the Honor Board, Consensus Board, Education Board, Social Affairs Board, Culture and History Board, Political Affairs Board, Project Development Board, Digital Media Board were determined.

The members of the Foreign Media, Local Media and Nationwide Media Assembly met online and determined the 11-person executive board among themselves. In addition, the boards also realized the distribution of duties among themselves.

On April 27-29, 2023, a Workshop on Peace and the Role of Media in the South Caucasus was organized in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, with the participation of journalists from Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, leading Azerbaijani and Armenian journalists to agree on the language of peace.

Within the scope of public diplomacy activities, an award ceremony was organized in Romania on 7-8 May 2023.

We submit the activity report of the Board of Directors of the Global Journalism Council (GJC) for the period between March 7, 2020 and May 31, 2023 for your information, appreciation and consideration.

Sincerely yours.

On Behalf Of the Board Of Directors

MEHMET ALI DIM

President Of GJC