AVRUPA NEWS AGENCY (AVA) — LONDON — The International Media and Friendship Awards, organised by the Mehmet Ali Dim, President of the Global Journalism Council (GJC) and its United Kingdom representative Vatan Öz, were held in London on 1 October 2026. The annual awards, organised by the GJC, which has representatives in 88 countries and all 81 provinces of Türkiye, were first held in New York last year. This year’s ceremony took place in London, one of the world's major centres for diplomacy and media, and was attended by diplomats, local government representatives, media professionals and invited guests.
“Türkiye-London Relations” archival exhibition
The programme opened with an archival exhibition entitled “Turkish-British Relations: From Documents to Life”, featuring newspaper headlines and diplomatic correspondence from the archive of collector Prof. Dr. Osman Kubilay Gül. The exhibition was curated by Dr Özgenur Reyhan Güler and opened at the prestigious Arundel House event venue in London.
The opening remarks for the exhibition were delivered by Mehmet Ali Dim, President of the Global Journalism Council (GJC). Dim with Prof. Dr. Osman Kubilay Gül and the exhibition was curated by Dr Özgenur Reyhan Güler
The exhibition was visited by Türkiye’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Osman Koray Ertaş and Türkiye’s Consul General in London, Associate Professor Dr Hasan Ulusoy, together with the GJC delegation.
The programme opened with an archival exhibition entitled “Turkish-British Relations: From Documents to Life.”
The ceremony began with a minute’s silence in memory of the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, journalists who lost their lives while on duty, and those who died serving their country, followed by the Turkish national anthem.
Opening speeches by Vatan Öz and Mehmet Ali Dim
The opening speech was delivered by Vatan Öz, GJC United Kingdom representative and owner of Avrupa Media Group, who was responsible for the London leg of the organisation.
Öz said the event brought together people from different countries and cultures around journalism, hard work and friendship.
GJC President Mehmet Ali Dim highlighted the importance of global media solidarity and thanked the organisations and institutions that supported the London event.
Dim said:
“I would like to thank, first and foremost, our United Kingdom representative Vatan Öz, as well as the institutions and organisations that provided sponsorship and support for our London event, including the world-renowned Pentex Ltd'in London, Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Keçiören Municipality and Sarıçam Municipality, Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), Alanya Touristic Hoteliers Association (ALTİD), Eftelia Hotels, EsteWorld UK London and MUSIAD UK, Kervan Restaurant Group London, Ishtar Restaurant Group London, Southgate Hotel London, UVA Cantina Restaurant London and Cafer Erol London.”
During the protocol speeches, Türkiye’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Osman Koray Ertaş, Keçiören Mayor Dr Mesut Özarslan and Sarıçam Mayor Bilal Uludağ addressed the ceremony.
Sarıçam Mayor Bilal Uludağ addressed the ceremony.
A promotional film prepared by the Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation was screened, while Turkish and English-language Alanya promotional brochures were distributed to participants. Nazmi Uyar, Director of International Relations at Alanya Municipality, also attended the event.
20 awards in three categories
The awards ceremony was organised under three main sections: Journalism Awards, Global Awards and Certificates of Appreciation.
Pentex’s Special Diaspora Award was presented to Vatan Öz
Journalism Award presented to Deborah Fields. Deborah Fields of Hello UK Magazine receives the Journalism Award from Savaş Çokduygulu, Deputy President of the Global Journalists Council (GJC).
JOURNALISM AWARDS — 10 awards
- Behlül Çetinkaya — Anadolu Agency London Correspondent
- Ayten Abbaslı — Azerbaijan State News Agency AZERTAC London Correspondent
- Arda Sayıner — Hürriyet columnist
(The award was collected on his behalf by Oğulcan Uygun.) - Janos Oliver — Luxury Report Magazine
- Deborah Field — Hello UK Magazine
- Yunus Dalgıç — İhlas News Agency correspondent and FAM2 coordinator
- Sevgin Alişoğlu — Kanal D / London Aktüel programme
- Olga Ivshina — BBC London Russian Service
- Duygu Tağmaç — Cyprus Genç TV London Representative
- Ahmet Elnaoq — Palestinian journalist and war veteran living in London
DIASPORA MEDIA AWARDS — 3 awards
- Yeşim Özyiğit — Londra Gazetesi
- Vatan Öz — Avrupa Gazetesi and AVA European News Agency
- Mohamed Ali Harrath — Islam Channel London
The award presented to Vatan Öz was presented by renowned journalist Yavuz Donat.
RECOGNITION AWARDS — 3 awards
- Mert Ahmet — Producer of the documentaries The Hidden Story of Sport in the TRNC and A Turkish Cypriot Story
- Azim Köse — Director of Turks in Britain
- Seda Aslan Yılmaz — Director of Timeless PR & Digital Marketing
FRIENDSHIP AWARD
- Deborah Bonetti — Director of the Foreign Press Association (FPA), the Foreign Press Association in the UK
The award was presented by Vatan Öz, GJC Deputy President for Foreign Media.
GLOBAL AWARDS
- Global Service Award: Dr Mesut Özarslan — Mayor of Keçiören
The award was presented by Baroness Meral Hussein Ece. - Global Friendship Award: Bilal Uludağ — Mayor of Sarıçam
The award was presented by Baroness Meral Hussein Ece.
FRIENDSHIP AWARD
- Celine Assaf — Editor at The Independent, the British newspaper
The award was presented by Vatan Öz, GJC Deputy President for Foreign Media.
Certificates of Appreciation
Certificates of appreciation were also presented to institutions and individuals who supported the organisation.
Those receiving certificates included:
- Osman Koray Ertaş — Ambassador of Türkiye to the United Kingdom
- Aysan Mullahasan Atılgan — Ambassador of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to London
- Elin Süleymanov — Ambassador of Azerbaijan to London (collected on his behalf by First Secretary Eltay Aslanov)
- Associate Professor Dr Hasan Ulusoy — Consul General of Türkiye in London
- Baroness Meral Hussein Ece
- Afzal Khan — Former minister and Member of Parliament for Manchester (collected on his behalf by Mehmet Nezir Korkut)
- Türkan Akbaş — President of MUSIAD UK
- Aygül Peker — Director of EsteWorld UK London
- Enes Şanlı — Director of Lux&Lush
- İrfan Davulcular — President of the Turkish Community Football Federation (TTFF)
The ceremony concluded with a group photograph involving the award recipients and presenters, followed by closing remarks.
The closing message expressed the hope that the participants would meet again at future gatherings “where the light of journalism never fades, hard work is always valued, and friendship continues to bring us together across borders.”
GJC delegation
The GJC delegation included Keçiören Mayor Dr Mesut Özarslan, Sarıçam Mayor Bilal Uludağ, Alanya Municipality Director of International Relations Nazmi Uyar, and guest of honour, veteran journalist and writer Yavuz Donat.
The delegation also included Anadolu Agency Deputy General Manager Oğuz Karakaş, GJC President Mehmet Ali Dim, Deputy President Nevzat Çiçek (Independent Türkçe), deputy presidents Savaş Çokduygulu (5 Ocak), Nalan Yazgan (Cumhuriyet) and Edip Üzen (memurlar.net).
GJC Secretary General Lütfü Karakaş (Son Haber), Deputy Treasurer Hayati Arıgan (Dünya), Assembly presidents Özgenur Reyhan Güler (TV 24 – National Media) and İshad Eyvazlı (Media Türk – Foreign Media), board member Yunus Soner (TeleSUR TV), Deputy Assembly President Ahmet Coşkunaydın (Aydınlık), Assembly member Nurcan Demirtaş (Hürriyet), GJC Austria Representative Adil Elmas (Avusturya Günlüğü) and GJC Slovakia Representative Kemal Değirmenci were also part of the delegation.
The delegation returned to Türkiye on 2 October following the exhibition and awards ceremony held on 1 October.
Journalism Award winner Behlül Çetinkaya, Anadolu Agency London Correspondent, received the award from Mohamed Ali Harrath of Islam Channel London
Friendship Award winner Deborah Bonetti, Director of the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in the UK, received the award from the Global Journalism Council and its UK Representative Vatan Öz
Journalism Award winner Ayten Abbaslı, London Correspondent for the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), received the award from Mr Eltay Aslanov, First Secretary at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in London
Journalism Award winner Janos Oliver of Luxury Report Magazine received the award from Elshad Eyvazlı, President of the Global Journalists Council’s Foreign Media Assembly.
Afzal Khan, former UK minister and Member of Parliament for Manchester, received the award from Oğuz Karakaş, Deputy General Manager of Anadolu Agency; the award was collected on his behalf by Mehmet Nezir Korkut.
Winner: Duygu Tağmaç — Cyprus Genç TV London Representative (right)
Winner: Yunus Dalgıç — FAM2 coordinator also İhlas News Agency correspondent. (left)
Winner: Sevgin Alişoğlu — Kanal D / London Aktüel programme (left)
Celine Assaf — Editor at The Independent, the British newspaper. The award was presented by Mehmet Ali Dİm, GJC President
Left: Winner Ahmet Elnaoq — Palestinian journalist and war veteran living in London
Winner: Mert Ahmet — Producer of the documentaries The Hidden Story of Sport in the TRNC and A Turkish Cypriot Story
Winner: Azim Köse — Director of Turks in Britain
Winner: Seda Aslan Yılmaz — Director of Timeless PR & Digital Marketing
Global Service Award Winner Dr Mesut Özarslan — Mayor of Keçiören (right)
Global Friendship Award Winner: Bilal Uludağ — Mayor of Sarıçam with Türkiye’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Osman Koray Ertaş
A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Türkiye’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Osman Koray Ertaş, by GJC President Mehmet Ali Dim.
A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Aysan Mullahasan Atılgan — Ambassador of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to London, by Sarıçam Mayor Bilal Uludağ.
Guest of honour, veteran Turkish journalist and writer Yavuz Donat, presented the Diaspora Media Award to Vatan Öz, founder and editor of Avrupa Gazetesi, Avrupa News Agency (AVA) and Avrupa Times.
A Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Elin Süleymanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to London, and collected on his behalf by First Secretary Eltay Aslanov, by Türkiye’s Consul General in London, Associate Professor Dr Hasan Ulusoy
Türkiye’s Consul General in London, Associate Professor Dr Hasan Ulusoy
The Certificates of Appreciation award was collected on behalf of Afzal Khan, former minister and Labour Member of Parliament for Manchester, by Mehmet Nezir Korkut, MÜSİAD Manchester Representative.
The Certificate of Appreciation awarded to Aygül Peker, Director of Esteworld UK, was received on her behalf by Güzel Öz, Editor of Avrupa Times, from Savaş Çokduygulu, GJC Deputy President.
Certificate of Appreciation awarded to Türkan Akbaş, President of MÜSİAD UK, by Nazmi Uyar, Director of Foreign Relations at Alanya Municipality.
GJC Board Members Yavuz Donat, Nalan Yazgan and Savaş Çokduygulu.
