ISTANBUL, 20 October (BelTA - Anadolu Agensy). - The Environment Forum organized by Anadolu Agency, Türkiye's leading news provider, is set to kick off Thursday in Istanbul to raise awareness of the climate crisis and environmental issues.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will send a video message to the opening of the forum, which will be held at Istanbul Renaissance Polat Hotel with the main theme Reshaping the Narrative of Environmental and Climate Crises.
Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun (via video), along with Serdar Karagoz, Anadolu Agency's director-general and chairman, UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative Louisa Vinton, and Ovais Sarmad, the deputy executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will also address the event.
The forum, with the participation of representatives of many local and foreign NGOs and international organizations, politicians, academics, and journalists, will be moderated by Yusuf Ozhan, Anadolu Agency's deputy director-general and editor-in-chief, under the title of Media Responsibility on Climate Change.
It will feature sessions on Clean Energy for Sustainable Development, The Media's Approach to Natural Disasters, and Climate Crisis and Responsibility Sharing, as well as issues such as climate change, energy, the media's view of climate change and environmental education.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change minister Murat Kurum will also address the event.
Türkiye's first lady Emine Erdogan, who has spearheaded the nation's Zero Waste project since 2017, is expected to deliver a closing speech.
The event aims to tackle issues such as the need to create a new media language on environmental and climate issues, international news agencies raising global awareness, the duties of traditional and new media outlets, and the pursuit of environmental awareness in new news areas.
“We aim to redefine the relationship between media and environment by creating a medium for environmental experts to voice their opinions and discuss solutions,” according to the forum's website.
Among the forum's international participants are Portugal's former Minister of Europe Bruno Macaes, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Ovais Sarmad, CEO and General Diretor of Italian news agency ANSA Stefano De Alessandri, global climate and environment news editor at Associated Press (AP) Peter Prengaman, climate director of Spain's EFE Agency Arturo Larena.
