The International Media and Friendship Awards, organised by 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 international media, and was attended by diplomats, local government representatives, journalists and invited guests.
Archival exhibition on Turkish-British relations
The programme opened with an archival exhibition entitled “Turkish-British Relations: From Documents to Life”, featuring newspaper headlines, diplomatic correspondence and historical documents from the archive of collector Prof. Dr Osman Kubilay Gül.
The exhibition was curated by Dr Özgenur Reyhan Güler and opened at Arundel House in London. The opening remarks were delivered by GJC President Mehmet Ali Dim.
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 members of the GJC delegation.
The awards 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 through journalism, hard work and friendship.
GJC President Mehmet Ali Dim highlighted the importance of international 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 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, MUSIAD UK, Kervan Restaurant Group London, Ishtar Restaurant Group London, Southgate Hotel London, UVA Cantina Restaurant London and Cafer Erol London.”
Awards presented in several categories
The awards were presented in three main sections: Journalism Awards, Diaspora Media Awards and Recognition Awards, alongside Global Awards, Friendship Awards and Certificates of Appreciation.
Pentex’s Special Diaspora Award was presented to Vatan Öz.
Journalism Awards
The Journalism Awards went to:
- Behlül Çetinkaya — Anadolu Agency London Correspondent
- Ayten Abbaslı — Azerbaijan State News Agency AZERTAC London Correspondent
- Arda Sayıner — Hürriyet columnist
- 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
The Diaspora Media Awards went to:
- 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 veteran journalist Yavuz Donat.
Recognition Awards
The Recognition Awards went to:
- 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 Awards
Deborah Bonetti, Director of the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in the UK, received a Friendship Award. 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.
Recipients 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 of the award recipients and presenters, followed by closing remarks.
The GJC delegation returned to Türkiye on 2 October following the exhibition and awards ceremony held in London on 1 October.
