STRASBOURG, France 

The second day of the EU-backed GreenLens progress meeting continued under Anadolu’s cooperation Thursday in Strasbourg, where partners from Türkiye, France, Romania and North Macedonia evaluated the project’s achievements to date and outlined priorities for its next phase.

Opening the session, Hakan Guvenlioglu, Anadolu’s deputy manager of business development and sponsorship, recalled how the project was first conceptualized.

“We discovered that no comprehensive training program existed for environmental reporting,” he said. “After the project was accepted by Türkiye’s National Agency and the EU, we have so far trained 52 students.”

“We are planting a seed for their professional future, and the learning platform being developed will allow media professionals worldwide to benefit from this initiative,” he added.

From North Macedonia, Zekerija Berisha of the Institute Polis said 10 participants from his institution have joined the training so far.

“Their impressions have been extremely positive, and more youth groups are expected to participate,” he said, adding that the LMS system and the upcoming e-book will be key to the project’s long-term sustainability. “We hope this initiative continues in even more advanced fields.”

Abdulbaki Demir from Station de Jeunesse said the project is highly valuable for young people preparing for journalism careers. “We received very positive feedback from the first two sessions and look forward to contributing to the remaining phases,” he noted.

Romanian partner Serkan Eruysal highlighted the cooperation built through the program.

“We are very proud to work with Anadolu,” he said for his part. “The feedback from our students has been very good, and this project has created strong networks for all participants.”

Representing Dehukam, Levent Bilgili stressed the public importance of accurate environmental reporting. “Bringing together students from different countries has created a strong synergy,” he said.

He added: “Ensuring that the public has access to correct information on environmental issues is extremely important.”

Anadolu launched its GreenLens: Environmental and Climate Journalism Training program in early May to equip media professionals and students with the tools needed for accurate and effective climate reporting.

The three-day meeting will conclude Friday, when partners are expected to finalize the roadmap for the project’s second phase and review planning for the Environmental Forum scheduled for late 2025.

The GreenLens project aims to equip participants with the skills to access accurate data, report ethically and produce impactful content on digital platforms. The educational programs are set to continue through the end of 2026.