The Contemporary Life Honor Award, granted for the first time in the realm of the press, was given to journalists Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel this year.

The Contemporary Life Honor Award was granted by our association for the first time in the sphere of press this year to journalists Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel, who prioritize the public interest in their work and inform the public about the negative aspects of communities and sects.

The Bakırköy Municipal Theaters Yunus Emre Cultural Center - Turhan Tuzcu Stage hosted the event for the Contemporary Life Honor Award, which was presented for the first time this year by the  Association for Support of Contemporary Living in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Republic.

ÇYDD Headquarters and Istanbul branches executive board members, association members, volunteers, students, and all friends of Çağdaş Yaşam attended the ceremony, which was attended by many guests from the press, legal community, and academic community. Eylül Han Tezel, a newscaster, presided over the awards presentation.

The ceremony started with a cocktail and music concert. After the concert, ÇYDD Chairman Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yüksel gave the opening speech. Prof. Dr. Yüksel shared with the guests how ÇYDD has been continuing its journey of modernity for 34 years with the power it received from a century-old Republic, and how it has struggled with all the difficulties experienced, and said, “Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established the modern and secular Republic of Turkey a century ago and reached the level of a developed country in all areas of life. He had dreamed of going out. Today, we continue to carry this dream into the future together and try to pay our debt to Atatürk and the Republic. We will always protect our secular values ​​with the responsibility of protecting and keeping the Republic alive. Even though the forces that want to distance the country from the gains of the secular republic constantly appear before us, we will make a bright future possible for our children
with the courage, will, and efforts of our journalists such as Mr. Timur Soykan and Mr. Murat Ağırel, and we will not allow all our citizen's dreams of "Contemporary Turkey" to be imprisoned in the dark. We are proud to present the Contemporary Life Honor Award to such esteemed figures in honor of the 100th anniversary of our Republic. We should not forget that the most important indicator of a democratic state of the law is the free, impartial, independent, principled and transparent press. Also today, January 10, is Working Journalists Day. I sincerely congratulate all press workers on this special day, along with Mr. Soykan and Ağırel.” She ended her speech with his words.

Then at the ceremony, the President of the Istanbul Bar Association, Lawyer Filiz Saraç made a speech. Saraç underlined that they will continue to fight for the existence of the Republic of Turkey as a state of the law at all times and under all conditions, and expressed her speech to the unforgettable Chairman of ÇYDD, Prof. Dr. She emphasized that the torch lit by Turkan Saylan will continue to illuminate the future together with the younger generations.

At the ceremony, which continued with the speeches of Timur Soykan and Murat Ağırel, ÇYDD Deputy Chairman Lawyer Sedat Durna explained the reason for the award with the following words: “Journalist Timur Soykan, announced to the public the news that the founder of a cult foundation, who has shaken us all and made us ache in the past days, systematically abused his 6- year-old daughter under the guise of "marriage", and journalist Timur Soykan, who followed them to the end Journalist Murat Ağırel, who shared the files showing his dark sides with the public and followed the ideas in this field, was awarded the Contemporary Life Honor Award for his efforts, courage, and principled and determined stance on the path of modernization and enlightenment.”

At the end of the ceremony, ÇYDD President Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yüksel and Lawyer Turgut Kazan, Timur
Soykan and Murat Ağırel presented their awards.