Under the coordination of AA, with the support of the European Union (EU) and the Turkish National Agency, and with contributions from Ankara University's National Research Center for Maritime Law, Station de Jeunesse from France, the POLIS Institute from North Macedonia, EDITURA ERUYSAL SRL from Romania, and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), the second term of the project's training program will be held in the amphitheater at the entrance of AA's Istanbul office.

Speaking at the opening of the program, AA Academy Deputy Manager Bilgay Duman said that climate change and environmental issues are among the most critical problems in the world.

Duman stated that climate change affects not only the environment but also daily life, politics, and the economy, emphasizing that the “Yeşilhat” unit was established within AA as a priority issue for Anadolu Ajansı's publication policy.

Hakan Güvenlioğlu, AA Sponsorships & Business Development Deputy Manager, stated in his speech that the GreenLens project is currently the first training project carried out by news academies and agencies in Türkiye and around the world.

Güvenlioğlu stated that Anadolu Ajansı is perhaps the second largest Turkish company representing Türkiye abroad after Turkish Airlines, and the world's fifth largest news agency. "That's why the news produced in this building and the content we publish can reach anywhere in the world at the touch of a button. Being part of such an operation, seeing it, meeting these colleagues, and networking with them is truly a valuable experience. We hope you take advantage of these opportunities through the GreenLens project."

Following the opening speeches, Hale Aydoğmuş, AA Environment & Agriculture News Manager, gave a training session on “Strategic Communication in Climate Journalism,” while Barışkan Ünal, Foreign & Economy News Publishing Manager, gave a training session on “News Ethics in Climate Journalism.”

The first day of the 5-day program was completed with these training sessions.

Participants from different countries gathered at GreenLens

Victor Breme, a news anchor and reporter from Romania who participated in the program, said that climate journalism is not a popular topic in his country, and therefore his institution's news department recommended that he participate in the training.

Breme, who expressed his desire to focus on climate and environmental journalism, said, “I hope to learn how to combine what I know in my professional and academic fields and how to communicate it better to people, how to communicate better with people, and how to translate all the difficult data into plain language so that everyone can understand the issue.”

Another participant from Romania, 22-year-old news reporter Ioana-Daria Gheorghe, said she wanted to learn more about the climate crisis and use this knowledge in her country.

Budugan Bianca, who came from France for the training, said that participating in such training at a young age is important for gaining experience and meeting new people, and that she wants to improve her communication skills within the program. Bianca noted that changing other people's perspectives and ideas is important for building something in the future.

Rümeysa Cansu Turan, a graduate of Marmara University's Faculty of Political Sciences and a senior double major in journalism, spoke about combining her interest in political science with her passion for journalism.

Emphasizing that Türkiye could come to the fore in the field of climate journalism on the international stage, Turan said she has expectations regarding education, crisis communication, making climate journalism more visible, and further increasing its power in the media.

The education program will continue until the end of 2026 

It was stated in the program that AA continues its work on projects related to climate change and the environment, and that the application processes for projects planned to be implemented in the 2026-2027 project periods will be completed as soon as possible. 

The training programs within the scope of the project, attended by students and members of the press from various countries, will continue until the end of 2026.