Türkiye’s new digital news channel TRT Africa to provide 'unique, fresh' perspective

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - TRT Africa, Turkish national broadcaster TRT's new digital news channel, will "provide a unique and fresh perspective," said Türkiye's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun speaks at the launch event of TRT Africa on Friday.

Noting that Türkiye "has made significant strides in developing friendship and cooperation with African countries in the last 20 years" under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Altun said the country stands by "Africa in all fields, from education to health, from development aid to economic cooperation, from security to infrastructure investments, and will continue to do so."

Altun expressed belief the newly launched digital channel, "which will occupy a prominent position in the global communication network, will provide a unique and fresh perspective challenging the conventional perceptions, stereotypes and one-sided information flow regarding the continent."

"As Türkiye, we are ready to share with African countries and our African brothers all of our knowledge, resources, and experience in the field of media and communication, including the strong capacity we have developed in the fight against disinformation, which is one of the greatest threats to individuals, societies and states," he added.

For his part, TRT's Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, at the event, also noted Türkiye's strong ties with the African continent and said it has "gained remarkable momentum in the last 20 years."

Saying that "Africa for decades has faced subjective broadcasting policies of the West," Zobaci noted that "TRT Afrika will reflect Turkish policies (regarding the continent) on a win-win basis situation.

TRT Africa, which will be active in dozens of African countries from Gambia to Morocco, will broadcast in English, French, Swahili, and Hausa languages aiming to show the real image of the continent to the whole world.

TRT Africa will begin its broadcasting life after a promotional program at the first Broadcasting Summit.

Representatives of the African Broadcasting Union will come together at the summit with the theme, Towards a Sustainable Future: Reshaping the Public Broadcasting Service.

On the first day of the summit, training will be given to African journalists by TRT. As many as 23 journalists from 16 African countries will attend the program.

They will discuss issues such as the change in the media landscape during the coronavirus pandemic, the contribution of technology in shaping journalism's transformation, and tools to be used against the Western ethnocentric approach.