Anadolu Agency health journalism training program ends

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA

Anadolu Agency's health journalism training program came to an end Friday with participants receiving their certificates.

Health reporters from Albania, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Somalia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Kazakhstan and Turkey participated in the 11-day program in capital Ankara that began on Aug. 8.

The program was organized by Anadolu Agency's News Academy in collaboration with Ankara-based Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), which is a subsidiary of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Speaking at a ceremony during which participants were given their certificates, Anadolu Agency Deputy Director General and Editor-in Chief Metin Mutanoglu said the program was the agency's first project with SESRIC.

He said the program aimed to give specialized training to journalists and offer a chance to share their experiences between media persons of OIC countries.

Mutanoglu briefed journalists about Anadolu Agency's history, experience in journalism and future projects.

"We want to share this experience with friendly countries and journalists of these friendly countries. It was in this regard that we started this important work with SESRIC and you are the first guests of this," he said.

He said more training programs were in the pipeline with SESRIC, including journalism training specializing in judicial and security sectors.

"We will use all capabilities of Anadolu Agency to increase specialization of journalists in the Islamic world," Mutanoglu said.

SESRIC Director General Ambassador Musa Kulaklikaya said the participants were informed about the current health sector situation in OIC member countries in the program.

"This training program was organized by keeping in mind the enormous role of media in the domain of health in terms of raising awareness and information sharing," Kulaklikaya added.

The health journalism training was held by representatives from the OIC, experts on health journalism, and academics as well as Anadolu Agency's experienced journalists with a view to improving health journalism in the OIC member states.

The program planned to provide cooperation among OIC members and establish networks between journalists.

Anadolu Agency has 39 offices worldwide and produces news stories in 11 languages.

It currently posts news in Turkish, English, Arabic, French, Kurdish dialects of Kurmanji and Sorani, BCS (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian), Russian, Albanian, Persian, and Macedonian languages.

The agency, which has over 1,500 subscribers both in Turkey and abroad, also plans to launch services in Spanish and Indonesian soon.