The Regional Director of Bursa of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, Ali Fuad Gölbaşı, met with international students as part of the “Public Diplomacy and Media Relations” course organised by the We Are One International Youth Platform at Bursa Uludağ University, with the support of the Birlik Foundation.
At the event held alongside the platform’s Diplomacy Workshop activities, Gölbaşı delivered a presentation discussing a wide range of issues from the key differences between media and communication, to the impact of digital transformation on public opinion, the concept of strategic communication, and the significance of combating disinformation for national security.
Highlighting that digitalisation has accelerated the flow of information and that manipulative content has created new global challenges in an environment where fake and real information intermingle, Gölbaşı noted that strategic communication has now become an essential component of states’ processes of power concentration.
Gölbaşı addressed the efforts of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications to counter disinformation campaigns, emphasising that enhancing media literacy has become a strategic imperative.
Ali Fuad Gölbaşı conveyed the fundamental principles concerning the proper, conscious, and responsible use of digital platforms to the students, highlighting the significance of personal awareness in combating disinformation.
Noting the importance of establishing a communication ecosystem that upholds human dignity while enabling the swift and secure circulation of accurate information, Gölbaşı highlighted the need for a refreshing refuge in the current digital landscape, increasingly impoverished in terms of content, and cited the Türkiye-based social media platform NSosyal.
The presentation addressed the role of the Directorate of Communications within Türkiye’s international communication architecture, its truth-based communication approach and international partnerships, the contributions of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and Anadolu Agency (AA) to global broadcasting, and the increasing strategic importance of public diplomacy in an evolving media landscape.
It also outlined for students the pivotal role of the Directorate of Communications in advancing Türkiye’s public diplomacy efforts, the position of strategic communication as the common ground between public diplomacy and soft power, and the practical value of mass media in public diplomacy practice.
The event concluded with a photo shoot after an interactive session that allowed students to raise their questions.