TRT Español goes online, connecting Türkiye with the Spanish-speaking world

The Turkish Television and Radio Corporation launched its latest digital platform, TRT Español, on Friday at a ceremony attended by dignitaries from across Latin America and other countries.

TRT Español aims to cover news in the Spanish-speaking world and tell exciting human interest stories that resonate with audiences from around the world in an independent and impartial way.

A host of distinguished guests, including prominent Latin American ambassadors and international media, attended the platform's inaugural ceremony.

Mariela Sagel, Panama's ambassador to Türkiye, said that she has waited for TRT Español's launch for over a year since meeting TRT Director-General Mehmet Zahid Sobaci in Ankara last year.

Freddy Molina, Venezuela's ambassador to Türkiye, stressed TRT Español's importance as an alternative to other news sources as the media landscape has a "very Westernised vision of the news."

TRT Español can serve as a bridge between "the West and the East", he said.

Elvis Alam, the ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Türkiye, said the new platform would help bring Turkish people closer to his own countrymen, referring to TRT Español as "a way to have a direct exchange in our own language."

"You will know us better, and we will also know you better."

A historic day

TRT World's television anchor, Maria Ramos, opened the event with fellow journalist Alican Ayanlar, outlining her enthusiasm for the new initiative in Spanish, which is spoken in 20 countries.

Under the slogan 'donde las personas importan' or 'The Place Where People Matter', TRT Español will provide compelling stories from Türkiye, Latin America, Spain, and across the globe.

As Ramos and Ayanlar spoke during the event, the TRT Español website went live.

Ramos, an anchor with Hispanic heritage, underscored the cultural richness of the Spanish-speaking world and the bonds and shared values between the people of Türkyie and the Hispanic world.

Türkiye's Communications Director, Fahrettin Altun, also took to the stage to outline his hopes for the new platform to promote rights and justice.

He pledged that Turkish media will "continue fighting against oppression and give a voice to those who are oppressed."

Affording a new voice

Jazmin Natour, a Turkish-Palestinian translator and Turkish-language teacher living in Buenos Aires, said it was an "honour" to see media like TRT Español affording a "different perspective" on global news.

"I believe that the launch of TRT is going to contribute a lot to bringing our Latin, Turkish or Spanish-speaking cultures closer together," she told TRT World.

Natour, who also collaborates at the prestigious Turkish Yunus Emre Cultural Centre in downtown Buenos Aires and writes for Argentine media about Turkish culture, emphasised the important role TRT Español can play in bringing people from different backgrounds together.

She said that in recent years Turkish TV dramas have taken Latin America by storm.

"Diziler (Turkish TV series) is shifting the perspective regarding the understanding of Turkish in the world, and that seems like a great advancement," she added.

While some guests had travelled from Spain to attend the launch event, others came via hours-long flights from Latin America.

Nicolas Schonfield, executive director at Televisión America Latina, said in recent years, both regions have sought to unite ties as public broadcasters.

"Honestly, we are amazed by this impressive launch by TRT," he said.

"We believe that Türkiye is a central point in the world's history and that Turkish and Latin American people also have much more in common than we think—the way when it comes to feeling, suffering, enjoying (and) living."

"TRT Español is going to be very useful in developing the cultural, political and economic relationship between Türkiye and Latin America," he added.

From across Latin America's vast media landscape, journalists were in Istanbul to attend the event including Lautaro Andrade Castro from Ecuador's public TV channel.

("I'm) Very happy to come here to see Istanbul, to see Türkiye and to strengthen ties between Latin America," he told TRT World.

He explained the importance of shedding light on Turkish tourism, gastronomy and culture to Ecuadoreans.

Luis Alberto Varillas, part of Guatemala's General Directorate of National Radio Broadcasting and Television, said Türkiye and Guatemala have around 150 years of diplomatic relations, which began during the Ottoman era.

Türkiye is also a destination where many Latin Americans don't require visas.

"The hospitality of the people here is also impressive. Personally, I am delighted with Istanbul and Türkiye," said Varillas.