GJC brought together diaspora journalists in London

The President of the Global Journalism Council (GJC), Mehmet Ali Dim, who is continuing his meetings in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, met with Turkish and Turkish-friendly journalists working in the UK.
Hosted by GJC UK Representative Vatan Öz at the Yunus Emre Institute in London, the reception offered guests a buffet of non-alcoholic hot and cold beverages, cold canapés, and snacks.
ÖZ: WE TOOK CONCRETE STEPS
The event began with an opening speech by Vatan Öz. Öz stated that he had evaluated possible areas of cooperation between the Global Journalism Council (GJC) and the Foreign Press Association (FPA) at their meeting, adding that joint projects that could be carried out with journalism professional organizations in the UK were also discussed. Expressing that the meeting was extremely productive and enjoyable, Öz emphasized that despite the FPA being a long-established British organization, they successfully represented themselves as Turkish journalists and took concrete steps towards cooperation. Noting that the visit being shared on the FPA’s corporate and social media accounts was also meaningful for them, Öz said, “This is an extremely valuable development for us. We were honored that the post by Mehmet Ali Dim, President of the Global Journalists Council, appeared on the FPA’s official accounts.“ Reminding that the GJC has representatives in 80 countries, Vatan Öz stated that one of these representatives is in the United Kingdom, adding, ”As the Representative for the United Kingdom, I will represent the GJC in the best possible way.” we will continue to work with all our efforts to represent you.”
DİM: THE BRITISH MEDIA IS AN EXAMPLE
Mehmet Ali Dim then took the stage and said:
“I would like to especially thank my dear brother, friend, colleague, and our representative here, Vatan Öz, for bringing us together with you at such an event in the United Kingdom. He has prepared a truly wonderful program. Today is the second day of the program for me, and I am facing an extremely busy schedule. Thankfully, he has left me almost no time to breathe, but I am extremely pleased about that. First of all, I bring you greetings from your colleagues in Turkey. They also send you their love, respect, and affection.
As you all know, the journalism profession is undergoing a serious transformation process, especially in recent years, due to the impact of digitalization and social media. One of our biggest concerns is the rapid entry of social media into the realm of traditional media and the resulting decline in the power of traditional media. This topic has been on the agenda in all the meetings we have held over the past two days, and everyone agrees on this point. Unfortunately, a significant portion of the content shared on social media under the name of ‘journalism’ contains disinformation. This situation causes serious problems not only in Turkey but also in many countries around the world, especially in developed democracies. Statistics today show that approximately 86% of social media posts are disinformation, meaning they are fake and unverified. It consists of content.
This is precisely where we, as the Global Journalism Council, take responsibility. Thankfully, we have become an influential professional organization both in our country and internationally. The valuable representatives here have contributed greatly to this success.
Among us is Ms. Aynur, who lived in London for many years, served as the London representative of Demirören News Agency, and is one of the founding members of our council. I would like to extend a special greeting to her. Also among us are Salih Gaygusuz, former mayor of St. Albans, England, and Adil Elmas, our GJC representative in Austria. I would like to introduce them to you as well.
London actually means many things. There is a city legend that is sometimes told among the people that “London is the center of the world.” Looking at it today, although New York is predominantly the world’s financial center, I am pleased to say that London is still one of the most important centers that continues to embrace and apply ethical and universal journalism principles.
I find the commitment of London’s media organizations and journalists to ethical values extremely successful and follow it closely. This gives me hope for the future of our profession. I said I would give a short speech, but journalists tend to talk a little too much when they get the microphone; please forgive me. At the same time, this speech has also been an opportunity for me to share my concerns.
Keeping a Turkish publication going in London for a quarter of a century is truly a great achievement. While it is difficult enough to continue media activities in Turkey, doing so abroad for 25 years requires great dedication. It requires sacrifice from your own life, your family, and your financial resources. For this reason, I wholeheartedly congratulate Vatan Öz and all the journalists who work here. I am pleased to see that Turkish journalists working here have created a strong diaspora media. Even if they have different views, including media organizations broadcasting from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, they are all our voice. If there is democracy, we must be tolerant of different voices. Finally, I would like to briefly mention the publications of the Global Journalism Council. We have the 13th issue of our Global Media magazine on our table here. Our magazine is published in both Turkish and English. It contains more than 30 articles selected from our representatives in 80 countries. I can comfortably say that it is a truly global publication. We kindly request our interested colleagues to take a copy. I thank you all for your participation and offer my regards.”
COOPERATION PROTOCOL
A cooperation protocol was also signed between the London-based European Turkish Journalists Association (UK) and the Global Journalists Council (GJC). The protocol has laid the groundwork for GJC events planned in the UK.
SEALE: A PRODUCTIVE MEETING
Another foreign journalist attending the reception was London-based journalist and publisher Alexander Seale. Having lived in Paris for 11 years and written articles on African news and international issues for the BBC’s French section (BBC Afrique), Seale currently works as a London correspondent for RFI English and Radio Canada. Seale, who is interested in French and European politics, Middle East and African news, culture, and sports, said he was open to discussions on Brexit, French politics, and current UK news. Seale said in his speech: “The event was productive in terms of both sharing journalism experiences in Europe and strengthening the Global Journalists Council’s international collaborations. From London, we support our own countries, such as France, Belgium, or Turkey, like you, and we convey information to our countries. We do this as best we can. I thank all the participants.”
GAYGUSUZ DRAWS ATTENTION TO TRANSFORMATION
Former Mayor of St. Albans County Salih Gaygusuz drew attention to the transformation journalism has undergone in Europe during his speech. Gaygusuz stated that when he came to Europe in 1972 at the age of 15, it was extremely difficult to get news from Turkey, adding that access to newspapers, television, and radio was almost non-existent in those years. Recalling that developments in Turkey could only be followed with great effort via shortwave radios, Gaygusuz emphasized that journalism has made significant progress today. Stating that this success was made possible thanks to journalists working selflessly abroad, Gaygusuz said that media workers such as Vatan Öz, in particular, conveyed developments in Turkey to Europe quickly and accurately. He concluded his speech with thanks.
WHO ATTENDED
Alexander Seale – Belgium/France Journalist, FPA – London, Aynur Tattersall – HÜRRİYET / GJC – UK, Güzel Öz – European Agency (AVA) – London, Necati Kola – Turcs Europe TV – Newcastle, Adil Elmas – GJC/Avrupa Günlüğü – Vienna, Zeynep Clyburn – IHA – Newcastle / London, Sevgin Alişoğlu – ATV / London Aktüel – London, Poyraz Çadır – WorldTurk TV – London, Hüseyin Çekiç – London Face TV – London, Sevim Özdemir – Freelance – London, Arzu Sheridan – European Writer – Italy / Spain, İlkgül Karaca – European Writer – London, Selahattin Çekiç – Turkish Press – London, Barış Çimen – Freelance / VOA – London