TRT World aims to be 'voice for oppressed people'

By Sefa Mutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The goal of Turkey’s first English-language news network, TRT World, is to give a voice to oppressed people, Ibrahim Eren, Director-General of TRT said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an international forum organized by the news network in Istanbul, Eren said TRT Word's most important motivation was "to create a vision" for the oppressed.

Eren said the forum was bringing together journalists, academics, intellectuals and politicians, adding that humanitarian crises would be the main focus of the event.

He also said the forum would be “open to every idea and approach and as a conscientious and free platform”.

Eren said TRT -- Turkey’s national broadcaster -- had increased its influence in line with Turkey’s development in recent years. He said since TRT World’s launch in November 2016, it had reported influential stories.

"TRT's English news channel TRT World entered into the international publishing field promising to bring a breath of fresh air and give a new point of view to journalism in a period when the world is experiencing a crisis of communication, trust and stability and the news is negatively affected by it," he said.

TRT World is hosting its first international forum in Istanbul till Thursday. It aims to create an international platform where global issues are discussed and thoroughly analyzed.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be among those to address the forum.