A.Times/London-The marathon of the 3rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Global Journalists Council (GJC), which was established on 14 October 2019 by Presidential Decree with the status of an "International Union," began on 8 April and concluded on 4 July with the election of the Board of Directors, Supervisory Board, Ethics Board, Honor Board, specialized committees, and working groups. During the General Assembly, Mehmet Ali Dim was re-elected as President, while significant changes were made to both the Board of Directors and the Council's organizational structure.
A strong team for the new term at KGK. The management board, councils, and working groups have been appointed. Our editor Vatan Oz has joined the new leadership with the goal of expanding growth internationally and across Europe.
As of July 2026, the Council has representatives in 84 countries and 81 provinces across Türkiye. The General Assembly was held online via the Zoom platform by a company accredited by the Ministry of Interior. Delegates elected in April from the National Media Assembly, Local Media Assembly, Foreign Media Assembly, and Digital Media Assembly participated in the meeting. During the assembly, the presidents and executive boards of these four assemblies were also elected. In addition, regional working groups, established for the first time during this term, were selected.
KARAKAŞ CHAIRED THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The online General Assembly was opened by Secretary General Lütfü Karakaş, who then oversaw the election of the Assembly Council. The Assembly Council consisted of Lütfü Karakaş as Chair, together with Hacı Odabaş, Attorney Atilla Diler, and Meryem Kanberoğlu.
Following the opening speech by President Mehmet Ali Dim, the Board of Directors' activity report, financial statements, proposed budget, and the reports of the Supervisory and Ethics Boards were presented, voted on separately, and unanimously approved.
DIM PRESENTED HIS LIST
The assembly then proceeded with elections for the new term. The principal and alternate candidate lists for the Board of Directors, Supervisory Board, Ethics Board, and Honor Board, submitted by outgoing President Mehmet Ali Dim, were unanimously approved by the Assembly Council.
Subsequently, the presidents and executive boards of the four media assemblies, along with the specialized committees and regional working groups, were elected separately, concluding the General Assembly.
The following individuals were elected as Assembly Presidents:
- National Media Assembly: Özgenur Reyhan Güler
- Local Media Assembly: İsrafil Avcı
- Foreign Media Assembly: Elşad Eyvazlı
- Digital Media Assembly: Güven Hasbaş
DIM: "WE HAVE GREAT GOALS"
Re-elected for another three-year term, President Mehmet Ali Dim thanked the delegates and reflected on the Council's seven-year journey:
"Remember... When this Council was founded, there were those who said, 'They will never succeed.' Others claimed, 'You cannot bring together journalists with such different opinions.' Some even argued that an international professional organization was nothing more than a dream. But we chose hope over despair. Looking back today, we see that what proved us right was not our ambition, but our collective effort.
Positions come and go. Titles come and go. But the trust you leave behind remains. I have never regarded your trust as personal support; I have always seen it as a responsibility entrusted to our profession. Just as yesterday, I promise to carry this responsibility with the same dedication tomorrow.
This Council has never belonged to one individual. The Global Journalists Council is home to the local reporter working in Anatolia, the editor employed in the national media, and the journalists representing Türkiye across the world.
We are not rivals. Our real rivals are ignorance, fake news, and those who seek to undermine the credibility of journalism. We are honorable members of the same profession. Let us strengthen our shared ideals rather than our differences. A strong Global Journalists Council is essential not only for its members but also for amplifying Türkiye's voice, enhancing the reputation of Turkish media, and defending truth worldwide.
Our goal is to make the GJC one of the leading organizations promoting media cooperation among the Turkic World, the Balkans, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. We aspire to become a respected professional organization recognized around the world. Thankfully, we have already achieved a truly global presence. Today, we possess the capability to organize activities and events on every continent. This has only been possible thanks to your support and contributions. From now on, we will continue to make a difference as a stronger and more qualified civil society organization, accomplishing what others believed impossible. I sincerely thank everyone who has served our Council since its establishment and wish every success to our colleagues who will serve during the new term."
During the "Wishes and Opinions" session, delegates also shared their views.
ELECTED BODIES FOR THE 2026–2029 TERM
Board of Directors
The General Assembly directly elected Mehmet Ali Dim as President, Lütfü Karakaş as Secretary General, and Muhammed Vefa Özalp as Treasurer.
Other Board members are:
Nevzat Çiçek, Savaş Çokduygulu, Ersel Yıldırım, Nalan Yazgan, Edip Üzen, Hayati Arıgan, Hacı Odabaş, Merih Ak, Ulaş Can, M. İlker Yücel, Meral Ay, and İsmail Yunus Soner.
Alternate members:
Yaşar Önel, Nurcan Demirtaş, Sabri Çağlar, Murat Çiçek, İlker Ülker, Felat Bozarslan, Mustafa Birol Güger, Kübra Çelepi, Eran Hasibi, and Doğancan Kuru.
The Board of Directors will hold its first meeting in the coming days to assign executive responsibilities.
Supervisory Board
Yakup Aslan, Ercan Aslan, Bilal Güley, Aydın Tatar, İzzet Sarı, Kemal Deniz, and Hakan Yaman.
Alternate members:
Abdullah Biçer, Mustafa Doğan, Cabbar Sıktaş, Osman Sav, Sait Alıcı, Fikri Türkel, and İsmail Topal.
Ethics Board
Recep Aydın, Gürsel Eser, Tolga Şardan, Cenap Kürümoğlu, Cahide Hayrunnisa Çiçek, Canan Arslan, and Gökhan Güler.
Alternate members:
Sedat Azizoğlu, Necat Ahmet, Esra Alus, Ferhat Esnek, Kamil Güler, Harun Atalay, and Hayati Ağca.
Honor Board
Yaşar Yıldız, Bekir Doğan, Şerife Türkeş, Erol Kara, İbrahim Necati Günay, Orhan Kaplan, Hayati Nizamoğlu, Ayhan Mergen, Suhabi Okumuş, Muammer Başer, and İrfan Hoşafcıoğlu.
Media Assembly Executive Boards
National Media Assembly
- President: Özgenur Reyhan Güler
- Vice President: Dursun Eker
- Deputy Presidents: Ünsal Karabulut, Adnan Türkkan, Sabri Çağlar, Ferhat Yıldırım
- Secretary: Sevgi Uçar
- Members: Nurcan Demirtaş, M. Veysi İpek, Şehnaz Demiral, Ece İçmez
Local Media Assembly
- President: İsrafil Avcı
- Vice President: İbrahim Arslan
- Deputy Presidents: Mustafa Demir, Mustafa Efe, Salih Suat Deniz, Murat Dönmez
- Members: Melek Barış, Orhan Doğan, Esat Bindesen, Esma Kural
Foreign Media Assembly
- President: Elşad Eyvazlı
- Vice President: Ahmet Coşkunaydın
- Deputy Presidents: Vatan Öz, Eran Hasibi, İsmail Yunus Soner, Esra Öztürk
- Secretary: Nigar İbrahimova
- Members: Aynur Tattersall, Dilek Kaya, Khamza Djumayev, Emir Abdurrahman Bulut
Digital Media Assembly
- President: Güven Hasbaş
- Vice President: Denizhan Erkoç
- Deputy Presidents: Sertaç Virancık, Üstün Tuncer, Kemal Özdilek, Tolga Yenigün
- Secretary: Kübra Çelepi
- Members: Emre Baktiroğlu, Mustafa Salman, Dicle Nehir Bozdan, Ulaş Odabaş
Specialized Committees
The General Assembly also elected the members of the following specialized committees:
- Editorial Committee
- Reconciliation Committee
- Education Committee
- Political Relations Committee
- Social Relations Committee
- Project Development Committee
Regional Working Groups
The Council also established regional working groups covering:
- Professional Association Affairs
- Latin America
- Europe
- Asia
- Turkic World
- Middle East, Gulf and Africa
- North America
- Eastern Europe and Eurasia
The members of these working groups were elected by the General Assembly and will serve throughout the 2026–2029term.