Special Award for YTB's 15th Anniversary in the Press Photo of the Year Competition

This year, the "Year’s Press Photos" competition, organized continuously for 40 years by the Türkiye Photojournalists Association (TFMD) and being the most prestigious event in the field of photography, granted awards in 3 categories to commemorate the 15th anniversary of YTB's establishment. A total of 8 photos were awarded in the categories titled Brotherly Communities, Turkish Diaspora, and International Students. In the Brotherly Communities category, Caner Özbaydoğan won first place. Özbaydoğan's work carries traces of the massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He photographed an Albanian woman's last two remnants from her past, bringing them into the light. In the Turkish Diaspora category, Associated Press Photojournalist Emrah Gürel won first place. Gürel presented striking snippets through his lens of Turkish citizens evacuated from Lebanon aboard the TCG Sancaktar military ship after Israel's attacks on Beirut, Lebanon's capital. In the International Students category, Alsu Sagirova won first place. Sagirova photographed the colorful images of the "Agha Bazaar Ethno-Cultural Festival," held annually in July in the city of Bulgar, Tatarstan. Necati Savaş captured the moment hot air balloons flew over Cappadocia in support of Palestine, earning himself an honorable mention.

Thanks to the competition supported by YTB, marking its 15^th service year, young talents are discovered, and the cultural richness and diversity in the countries where the Turkish diaspora resides are expressed through a visual language. The experiences of international students studying in Türkiye were also narrated through the participants’ lenses. In the Brotherly Communities category, emotional bridges were once again strengthened.