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6th İstanbul Publishing Fellowship Program in 2021

The 6th “International İstanbul Publishing Fellowship Program” was held on 09-10-11 March 2021 in Grand Cevahir Hotel. The program is organized by the Turkish Press and Publishers Copyright and Licencing Society with contributions of Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The program is also supported by İstanbul Governorate and İstanbul Chamber of Commerce.

Bringing together foreign publishers in İstanbul to conduct copyright and translation negotiations, was organized in a hybrid form this year to mitigate risks associated with the pandemic. The program features both online and physical meetings. The number of participants in the face-to-face meetings was kept at a minimum, observing the health requirements for the participants.
 
Anadolu Agency is the Global Communication Partner of the event, and Turkish Radio and Television Association (TRT) supports the program as the Communication Sponsor. 869 participants from 120 countries applied to attend this year’s event. The İstanbul Publishing Fellowship Coordination Board granted admission to 345 participants from 60 countries.
 
The Opening Ceremony of the event was honoured by the participation of high-level officials, including Ali Yerlikaya, İstanbul Governor; Ali Odabaş, Director General of Libraries and Publication; Coşkun Yılmaz, Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism; İsmail Menteşe, Provincial Director of Commerce; Şekib Avdagiç, Chairman of İstanbul Chamber of Commerce; İsrafil Kuralay, Vice President of the Board of Directors of İstanbul Chamber of Commerce; Münir Üstün, President of Federation of Professional Publishing Associations; Lale Memmedova, Counsellor to Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture; Emrah Kısakürek, President of the Board of Directors of Association of Press and Publishing Union, Mustafa Altundal, President of Professional Association of Publishers of School and Culture Books (DEKMEB) and other representatives from the press and publishing sectors. Özgül Özkan Yavuz, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism also attended the event through videoconference.
 
The opening ceremony was presented by Kübra Akkoç and started with a promotional film about the program. The opening speeches were delivered by Ali Yerlikaya, İstanbul Governor; Şekib Avdagiç, Chairman of İstanbul Chamber of Commerce; Mustafa Doğru, President of Turkish Press and Publishers Copyright and Licencing Society; Bilal Erdoğan, Head of Trustees of İlim Yayma Foundation. Ord. Prof. İsa Habibbeyli, Vice President of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and Member of the Parliament, also delivered a speech on behalf of Azerbaijan, which was selected as the Focus Country in this year’s event.
 
Following the opening addresses, supporters of the 6th İstanbul Fellowship Program was rewarded with a plaque. Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya and other members of the protocol cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the event, which continued with seminars and B2B meetings.
 
Focus Country Azerbaijan
This year’s program featured the introduction of the Focus Country component, where the publication sector and literature of the selected country is placed in the thematic focus of the event.
 
To this end, Azerbaijan was named as the first Focus Country to show deep-rooted a language Turkish is and to generate international interest. Publishers, poets, and authors from Azerbaijan were invited to the event.
 
Two sessions on “Azerbaijani Literature and Translation into World Languages” and “When Reality Meets Fiction: Chingiz Abdullayev” were held.
 
The guests of the program included world-renowned Azeri author Chingiz Abdullayev as well as author Azad Ağaoğlu, who gained prominence in recent years.
 
İstanbul Copyright Awards
This year’s event also featured the first İstanbul Copyright Awards under the guardianship of İstanbul Governorate. The awards will be organized to promote copyright exchanges for translation of Turkish works into other languages and therefore supporting the development of the sector, cultural cooperation, and promotion, encouraging copyright deals, and rewarding achievements.
 
52 publishers from 26 countries applied for the İstanbul Copyright Awards, which is also supported by İstanbul Chamber of Commerce. The winner was Mohammad Katib from Digital Future LLC from Lebanon.
 
The second-place award was granted to Shahbaz Khudoghlu from Qanun Press in Azerbaijan. Bachar Chebaro from Hamad bin Khalifa University Press in Qatar.
 
The first three place holders were granted with cheques worth USD 10.000 for the winner, USD 6.000 for the second-place holder and USD 4.000 for the third-place holder that could be used in copyrights purchases.
 
The İstanbul Chamber of Commerce Special Award was given to Mensur Bytyqi from Kosovo.
 
Federation of Professional Publishing Associations Special Award was given to Nestoras Poulakos from Vakxikon Press from Greece. On behalf of the recipient, Nazlı Berivak Ak received the award.
 
Supporters of 6th Istanbul Publishing Fellowship included Republic of Turkey Directorate General of Libraries and Publications; Ministry of Commerce, İstanbul Governorate, Press and Publishers Association, İstanbul Chamber of Commerce, YAYFED, DEKMEB, TUGEV, Turkish Airlines, Albayrak Group, and Zeytinburnu Municipality. Additionally, Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture Baku Yunus Emre Institute, Azerbaijan Writers’ Association, and Baku Culinary Centre also supported the program as part of the Focus Country component.