The opening ceremony of the 15-day “Rohingya Media Training Program” was held in Ankara in cooperation with TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) and the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB).

People who are experienced in media and civil society were invited to the program. The program has been attended by 20 Rohingyas from 12 different countries. The training program will be carried out by experienced media experts in Ankara and Istanbul for 15 days. Within the scope of the programme, participants will also have the opportunity to visit relevant public agencies.

“This issue needs to be voiced by the international institutions and the media”

Touching upon the situation of Muslims in Myanmar in recent years, YTB President Abdullah Eren said: "Current population of Myanmar is 50 million. Nearly 1 million of the populations are Rohingya Muslims and, unfortunately, are deprived of their basic human rights, including their citizenship rights in the country. This issue needs to be voiced and addressed by international institutions and the media. As we ponder on what we can do as an institution, we point at Rohingya diaspora. This diaspora is composed of a considerable number of Rohingya Muslims, living outside of Myanmar mainly in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, and European countries. We have brought 20 Rohingya Muslims working in NGOs, traditional media and digital media from 12 different countries for this media training."

“Following the training, Rohingya media members can make their arguments effectively heard”

Noting that the training program has very valuable and rich content, President Eren added, "For two months, 20 media members coming from Rohingya diaspora will receive this training.  The content is very rich... Digital media, social media, new media are all very important components. At the end of this training, cultural trips and visits to public agencies will also be organized. We believe that at the end of this program, our brothers and sisters from Rohingya diaspora will make their own cases more effectively heard in both digital and social media. Additionally, we, as Turkey, will be observing this issue more closely.”