32nd Aydın Doğan International Cartoon Competition winners awarded

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

The 32nd Aydın Doğan International Cartoon Competition Awards were distributed during a ceremony on Nov. 17, with Albanian cartoonist Agim Sulaj receiving top prize for giving a voice to terror threat across the world.

Organized by the Aydın Doğan Foundation (ADV), founded by its honorary president Aydın Doğan, the awards ceremony was held at the Trump Towers in Istanbul on Nov. 17.

Sulaj received the grand prize for his cartoon in which he warned that terror could hit any country and person around the globe, while Iranian cartoonist Mohsen Nuri received the runner-up prize, as another Iranian cartoonist, Jalal Pirmarzabad, finished third.


During the award ceremony, ADV's Deputy Honorary President Sema Doğan gave Sulaj his first place award, while ADV Deputy Chairwoman and Hürriyet Chairwoman Vuslat Doğan Sabancı gave the second prize to Nuri, and ADV Executive Board President and Doğan Online Founding Chairwoman Hanzade Doğan Boyner gave the third prize to Pirmarzabad. 

Some 787 artists from 66 different countries participated in the competition, in which the jury evaluated 2,289 works. 

The jury of the competition, chaired by ADV Executive Board President Candan Fetvacı, was led by Greek artist Michael Kountouris and included renowned cartoonists like Ercan Akyol, Latif Demirci, Selçuk Demirel, Piyale Madra and Tan Oral – all from Turkey – Bayram Hajizadeh from Azerbaijan, Godfrey Mwampembwa from Tanzania, Yuko Shimizu from Japan and Jen Sorensen from the United States.



The jury also awarded Alberto Morales Ajubel from Spain, Angel Boligan from Cuba, Ishimaru Hide from Japan, Frank Hoffmann from Germany, Moacir Knorr Gutterres from Brazil, Musa Gümüş from Turkey, Cemalettin Güzeloğlu from Turkey, Jose Antonio Garci Nieto from Mexico, Didier Pizzi from France, Saman Torabi from Iran, Jugoslav Vlahovic from Serbia and Mikhail Zlatkovsky from Russia with achievement awards during the competition.

Speaking at the event, Doğan Boyner said the event aimed at gathering and encouraging cartoonists across the world to make their voices and messages heard.

“Our aim as a foundation is to contribute to the modernization of our country … What do we understand from contemporary Turkey? We desire a state of law and an egalitarian country, where there is no marginalization and which excludes violence, and where there is a transparent and tolerant society,” said Doğan Boyner. 

“We find cartoons significant here as cartoons actually teach us tolerance,” she added.

Sulaj resides in Italy, and is known for his works in the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey and in many other countries.

The cartoonist said his winning work objects to terror, violence and war, adding that he aimed at underlining that “social injustice provokes terrorism” in the piece.