The 60th General Assembly Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) took place in Seoul, South Korea, from October 31 to November 1, 2023. The ABU is the world’s largest broadcasting union, comprising 246 members from 65 countries, serving 3.5 billion viewers – more than half of the world’s population-.
In the presidential elections held at the General Assembly meeting hosted by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), TRT* Director General Prof. Mehmet Zahid Sobacı has been elected new President of the ABU.
TRT’s presence and influence within the ABU have been substantial, serving as a member of the Administrative Council—the union’s executive body—for eight terms. Additionally, TRT actively participates in various ABU committees and working groups, encompassing the Planning and Strategy Group, Radio Working Party, Digital Media Working Group, Programme Bureau, Technical Committee, and Technical Bureau.
Commencing his new role for a three-year term effective from November 1, 2023, the election of Prof. Mehmet Zahid Sobacı as President heralds a strengthened position for TRT within the Union.
Prof. Sobacı will lead the Union along with three Vice Presidents: Dr Yan Chengsheng, Director General of International Cooperation Department, NRTA (China); Mr Sunil, Additional Director General (Global Outreach) and Head of International Relations, All India Radio, Prasar Bharati (India); and Mr Inoue Tatsuhiko, Executive Vice President of NHK (Japan).
Prof. Sobacı will work in close cooperation with the ABU Secretary-General Ahmed Nadeem, regarding official visits, ongoing projects and current affairs of the ABU.
In his capacity as President, Prof. Sobacı will preside over key meetings such as the General Assembly and the Administrative Council meetings of the ABU. He will assume his role as the President of the ABU for the first time at the 117th Mid-Year Administrative Council meeting, to be hosted by Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation MTV Channel in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on May 9-10, 2024.
Under the leadership of Prof. Mehmet Zahid Sobacı, TRT will proudly host the 61st ABU General Assembly meeting, scheduled to convene in Istanbul in October 2024.
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*Turkish Radio-Television (TRT), the first and only public service media in Türkiye, caters for a wide range of audiences within Türkiye and throughout the world via 19 tv channels, 17 radio channels, 7 international digital news platforms, 4 printed magazines, web and radio broadcasts in 41 languages as well as a VOD platform “Tabii”.
The Broadcasting Unions TRT is a member of: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) – European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators (COPEAM) – the Mediterranean Center for Audiovisual Communication (CMCA) – African Union of Broadcasting (AUB).