The Western Black Sea Movement and Regional Development Model: The Establishment of the Western Black Sea Council and Media Visibility

Abstract

This study examines the establishment process of the Western Black Sea Council, which was founded as a result of the Western Black Sea Workshop held in Ankara on 25 October 2025, its regional development strategies, and its vision goals for the new period. The article is based on the content of the news item entitled ‘Western Black Sea Workshop Held in Ankara: Western Black Sea Council Established’ published by Dilek Iğdirli Ilgaz in the Kastamonu Güncel newspaper, the BRTV Live Broadcast, and the news items by the CUMHA news agency and Başkent Postası, and presents a scientific analysis of this initiative, which strengthens regional representation. The final section addresses the media visibility of the Western Black Sea Movement and the Western Black Sea Council.

1. Introduction

The Western Black Sea Region—a socio-cultural belt encompassing the provinces of Bolu, Düzce, Karabük, Bartın, Kastamonu, Sinop, Çankırı, Zonguldak, and Çorum—has felt a new need for regional solidarity in recent years due to increasing migration, economic imbalances, and environmental pressures. In addition, the atomisation of the region's people, who are weak in comparison to the clan structures in other parts of the country, has led to regional solidarity and unity. As a result, 2025 has become a turning point in the reshaping of the regional vision.

2. Regional Solidarity and Civil Structure: The Western Black Sea Movement

At the heart of development-focused initiatives are civil structures operating on behalf of the region. In this process, the Western Black Sea Equal Opportunities Association (BAKFED) took the lead; a strong solidarity network was established with the participation of local administrations, professional organisations and academic circles.

This network has been defined as the ‘Western Black Sea Movement’ and includes the goals of sustainable rapid development of the region, protection and use of its natural resources, provision of social justice, and strengthening of political representation.

3rd Western Black Sea Workshop (25 October 2025, Ankara)

The workshop held in Ankara addressed the development strategies for the Western Black Sea region. The coordination of the workshop was carried out from a regional development and equal opportunities perspective; academics, federation presidents, local government representatives, media organisations and civil society organisations actively participated. The Western Black Sea delegation, which came together for the first time in history in 2021, also held its first holistic Western Black Sea Workshop with this Workshop.

One of the views expressed at the event was the need to transition from a structure that is ‘rich in resources but lacking in vision’ to a ‘developmental region with vision and planning.’

‘The Western Black Sea has resources, it must have a vision.’

‘Our region, which has produced ministers, can now produce a President.’ (Kastamonu Güncel, 2025)

These statements emphasise that the region's potential can make a difference not only economically but also politically.

4. Establishment of the Western Black Sea Council

At the end of the workshop, a proposal to establish a regional umbrella organisation was presented by Ziya Öncan, President of the Zonguldak Associations Federation (ZONDEF). This proposal was concretised with the nomination of Batı Karadeniz Fırsat Eşitliği Derneği (BAKFED) President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selahattin ATEŞ, President of the Turkish Pensioners Association (TÜED) and SGK Board Member Kazım Ergün for the Council Presidency.

The participants decided unanimously to establish a Western Black Sea Council for the purpose of monitoring the economic, social and cultural development of the Western Black Sea and, in particular, implementing the Western Black Sea Development Project (BAKAP). Kazım Ergün, President of TÜED and Member of the SGK Board of Directors, was appointed as President of the Council; all institutions participating in the meeting, along with eight regulatory institutions, became members of the council. Başkent Postası. (2025). The future roadmap for the Western Black Sea was drawn up in Ankara. The Western Black Sea Workshop was completed and the Western Black Sea Council was established unanimously.

With the unanimous decision, the ‘Western Black Sea Council’ was officially established and defined as the centre for development and coordination in the region.

‘This structure is a model that acts with a non-partisan approach and will serve as a bridge between Ankara, Istanbul and the Western Black Sea.’ (D. Iğdirli Ilgaz, Kastamonu Güncel, 2025)

The council's purpose is to increase coordination among local actors, ensure the participation of the region's people in strategic decision-making processes, and enhance its capacity for representation at the national level.

5. Regional Media and Public Opinion Impact

The holding of the Western Black Sea Workshop in Ankara and the establishment of the Western Black Sea Council in the capital have resonated not only regionally but also nationally. Media outlets such as Fox News, Star News, TRT News, Cumhuriyet, Başkent Postası, İstamonu, BRTV, and Bartın Manşet have widely covered the news, bringing it to the public's attention.

Local media outlets such as Kastamonu Güncel, Zonguldak Pusula, Düzce Postası, Karabük Ajans 78, Bolu Gündem, Çankırı Medya, Sinop Gazetesi, Bartın Manşet, and Çorum Habercisi covered the topic, emphasising the ‘regional power alliance.’ It even attracted the attention of local sources outside the region, such as Alanya and Muş. Two key factors stand out in the emergence of this effect and its impact on public opinion, without any PR work being done: Firstly, the perceived need for the region to become more active, and secondly, the fact that the region's two main press and broadcasting organisations, BRTV and CUMHA news agency, did not remain indifferent to this need and actively involved eight regulatory bodies.

Western Black Sea Workshop and Western Black Sea Council Media Visibility

This section has been prepared to evaluate the media visibility of the Western Black Sea Workshop and the Western Black Sea Council. The analysis is based on media coverage in October 2025 and includes both national and local press reports.

1) Visibility in the National Press

Approximately 8–10 original news items appeared in the national press. Most of the news items were themed around ‘establishment’, ‘workshop results’ and ‘regional development’.

The highest level of visibility was seen in news items supported by photographs and videos.

2) Visibility in the Local Press

The intensity and diversity of news in local media is greater than in national media.

Regional TV stations, portals, and agencies have actively covered the workshop and council activities. However, most news reports have remained at the level of individual event announcements; follow-up reports on the final declaration or the Council's next steps are limited. Continuity should be ensured by conducting interviews on the subject.

Comparative Results

While the national press addressed the Western Black Sea Workshop and Council from a strategic and institutional perspective, the local press focused on participant representation and elements of regional pride.

Although media visibility is positive at both levels, sustainable communication strategies should be developed.

Regional development and council establishment

In conclusion, the Western Black Sea Workshop and the Western Black Sea Council have made an important start in terms of media visibility.

However, there is room for improvement in terms of the sustainability of news coverage, the depth of reporting, and public awareness.

From this perspective, in light of the press release prepared for the Western Black Sea Workshop and covering current developments, it is necessary to prepare the final outcome statement of the Western Black Sea Workshop and to present a structural roadmap within this framework.

6. Evaluation

History and Strategy: The Loyalty of the ‘Martyrs' Storehouse’

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selahattin Ateş finds it unacceptable that the Western Black Sea region is ranked among the poorest regions despite being referred to as the ‘martyrs' storehouse’. Fatma Kıranoğlu's references to historical figures such as İstiklal Yolu, Şerife Bacı and Halime Çavuş, and Prof. Cevdet Yakupoğlu's emphasis on the region's uninterrupted thousand-year history of Turkish rule are indicators that the region expects loyalty from the state.

In this context, the Western Black Sea Council, established unanimously in Ankara on 25 October 2025, should be defined not only as a representative body but also as a ‘common sense platform’ for the region. The institutionalisation of this formation will provide a multi-layered governance model in regional planning.

Furthermore, it has the potential to establish a balance between the triad of ‘natural resources – human resources – political representation’ in the region's development.

7. Conclusion

The Western Black Sea region, with its strong local identities and historical culture of solidarity, has the potential to make a strategic contribution to Turkey's development vision. The Council established in Ankara is the first step in translating this potential into an institutional framework.

‘Western Black Sea produces as much as Switzerland. More beautiful than Switzerland and with the added bonus of the sea, Western Black Sea contributes much more than Switzerland. The YHT is the key to this.’ (Ateş, Strasam, 2022)

Resources and Human Power: Mobilising Local Potential

Local resources will play a key role in the initiative: ‘Local resources such as Zonguldak coal, Filyos natural gas, Küre Mountains copper and the region's forest resources, and in terms of human power, the Western Black Sea diaspora in Marmara and Europe’ will be involved. “We have the flour, we have the butter; with vision and determination, we will make wonderful halva.”

“The Western Black Sea has resources, it needs a vision. Our region, which has produced ministers, can now produce a President.” (Kastamonu Güncel, 2025)

This statement can be considered not only a wish but also a political manifesto for the regional vision. The next step is to prioritise the development of a Western Black Sea Development Plan to realise the defined vision and mission. In this regard, cooperation with development agencies will facilitate continuity in media visibility.

References

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