Anadolu Agency's Energy Journalism training program came to an end on Friday with participants receiving their certificates.
The program was organized by Anadolu Agency's News Academy in collaboration with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).
A group of 24 trainees from eight different countries -- Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia -- attended 78 hours of lessons during the two-week long program.
As part of the program held between July 30 and Aug. 10, several subjects -- including energy news writing techniques, energy policies, the global natural gas and oil market -- were covered.
Speaking at the certificate presentation ceremony at TIKA's headquarters in capital Ankara, TIKA Vice President Mehmet Sureyya Er said they carried out about 2,000 voluntary projects in various fields around the world every year.
Giving energy journalism trainings as an example, Er said that TIKA did not expect any 'concessions' from participating countries in the energy of field in return for the free trainings provided in collaboration with Anadolu Agency.
Anadolu Agency’s editor-in-chief of foreign language services, Mehmet Ozturk, congratulated the participants for having successfully finished the training.
'You are receiving a prestigious certificate. Because Anadolu Agency's prestige continues to rise not only in Turkey but all over the world,' he said.
Ozturk requested all participants to write about their impressions during the training upon returning to their countries so that others could learn from their experiences.
He also asked the participants to stay in touch with both Anadolu Agency and TIKA and amongst themselves. 'The more we get to know each other, the fewer mistakes we will make,' he said.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Anadolu Agency's News Academy Deputy Coordinator Hayri Cetinkus highlighted the historical relations between Turkey and African and Middle Eastern countries.
Cetinkus stressed the importance of independent news writing by African and Middle Eastern media organizations, saying Turkey wanted those agencies to report news stories 'independently from global news organizations' as much as those countries wanted for themselves.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Jamel Romdhane from Palestine thanked TIKA, Anadolu Agency and Turkey for this 'valuable training experience', saying they all learned a lot during the two-week training.
By Firdevs Yuksel and Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr