The international Conference Titled “Digital Diplomacy: Trends & Features” was Successfully Completed
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The international conference titled “Digital Diplomacy: Trends & Features”, which is the multiplier event of the European Union Erasmus + Project coded 2021-1-TR01-KA220-HED-000027609 and entitled “Digital Diplomacy: Building the Common Future with Technology”, of which Istanbul Ticaret University was among the partners, and chaired by Prof. Dr. Özgün Erler Bayır from Istanbul University, was held on October 12th, 2023 in our Sütlüce campus.
Other partners of the project were University of Bucharest from Romania, University of Tartu from Estonia, University of Sacred Heart Milan from Italy, and University of Ljubljana from Slovenia.
The principal project manager of the DD-Tech consortium, Istanbul University Faculty of Political Sciences faculty member Prof. Dr. Özgün Erler Bayır, spoke about the conference as follows: “This mid-year conference of the project provided our project partners and students with the opportunity to learn about academic debates on the latest trends in digital diplomacy and developments in the relevant scientific literature, equipping them with useful information on the subject. The conference also gave me the opportunity to engage directly with the international team of practitioners and academicians participating in the programme.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uğur Yasin Asal, Head of the Political Science and International Relations Department at Istanbul Ticaret University and Project Coordinator of Istanbul Ticaret University, gave information about the conference in the opening session.
Stating that 20 presentations will be made under four main sessions at the conference, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asal has said: “Students of the universities that are our project partners will also follow the conference online. The conference we are hosting today was previously hosted by Romania and Estonia. The conference series will continue with the conferences to be hosted by Slovenia and Italy in the coming period.”
Delivering the keynote speech of the conference, Ambassador Mr. Murat Lütem, Director General of Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, said that technological developments and digitalization in recent years have reshaped industries, governments and other institutions. Mr. Lütem stated that narratives about Türkiye’s important role in political, economic and humanitarian issues were conveyed effectively and appropriately using social media accounts. Mr. Lütem has further said:
“Our social media campaigns abroad are organized in Turkish or foreign languages in coordination with the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, Directorate of Communications. In this way, we show the whole world the importance of the role played by Türkiye. Some countries, especially in the West, are adapting their foreign ministries to the digital age. Türkiye is one of these countries and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the pioneers of digital diplomacy.”
Mr. Lütem emphasized that in a world where the average attention span is getting shorter with each passing day, such content has the opportunity to reach larger audiences, especially through social media.
Stating that visual content created for various interactive activities such as summits, contacts, national day messages, press releases and meetings are circulated through social media in this context, Mr. Lütem has said: “These contents, created by non-traditional actors of diplomacy such as graphic designers and visual directors, contribute to the new world of diplomacy. Then again, using new digital media processes and platforms is just one of the ways our Directorate continues to adapt to an ever-changing world.”
“IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS”
Rector of Istanbul Ticaret University, Prof. Dr. Abdulhamit Avşar, emphasized that diplomacy has always had a central place in international relations, from maintaining peace to ending wars, and noted that the developments in technology in the digital age have directly affected and directed the phenomenon of communication.
Prof. Dr. Avşar reminded that the production of information has accelerated in the new period and that it has become easier for local ideas to find a place in the international arena, and said that the messages affecting the public have increased and accelerated. Stating that it has now become possible to attract the attention of the international community through social networks, Prof. Dr. Avşar has said, “Again, in addition to accurate information, inaccurate, propaganda-like and speculative information has also begun to spread at the same speed and influence target audiences with the same power.” Prof. Dr. Avşar has further said:
“One of the areas that will be most affected by this view of the digital age is diplomacy. Therefore, I hope that the conference will achieve useful results and open new horizons for the concept of digital diplomacy. As Istanbul Ticaret University, we are happy to host the conference where such an important issue will be discussed.”
The conference was completed successfully with the sessions held after the opening speeches.
For more information about the project and the conference, you can visit the project’s website at https://www.digitaldiplomat.eu.
