Association of Balkan-Southeast Europe News Agencies holds conference in Greece

By Derya Gulnaz Ozcan

ATHENS (AA) – The Association of the Balkan News Agencies – Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE) held a conference in Greece on Monday.

The event -- titled the Role of News Information in the New Balkan Reality -- was hosted by the Athens-Macedonia News Agency (ANA-MPA) in Thessaloniki.

Presidents and general managers of news agencies from the Balkans, the Mediterranean and Europe attended the conference.

The event started with a minute's silence for the victims of Turkish earthquakes and Greece’s train crash.

Earthquake images captured by Anadolu were displayed at the event.

Speaking at the event on behalf of Anadolu, Strategic Communications and Foreign Relations Manager Hazal Duran stressed that after the quake disaster, the agencies and colleagues within ABNA-SE were among the first to send solidarity message to Türkiye and Anadolu.

Meanwhile, representatives of news agencies that are a part of ABNA-SE, signed a declaration to fight fake news.

With the declaration, each news agency will form a team for quick valid verification to fight against disinformation.

Anadolu Agency Director General Serdar Karagoz will also speak at the ABNA-SE General Assembly that will take place on Wednesday in Thessaloniki.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan in Istanbul