Presidency's Head of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, attended the "2nd Communications Council Preparatory Workshop" themed "Century of Türkiye: Century of Communication."
Head of Communications Altun stated that since its establishment, the Directorate of Communications has implemented numerous projects and initiatives at both national and international levels to ensure qualified representation of Türkiye in every field, strengthen the Türkiye brand, establish unity in the state's discourse, and enhance state-citizen communication.
Head of Communications Altun expressed that they feel honour and pride on behalf of Türkiye with each achievement and that they have maintained their resilience during challenging times by drawing strength from Türkiye, the nation, and the truth. Altun also announced that the second "Communications Council" will be held in April after a 22-year hiatus.
Head of Communications Altun stated that as part of the council, 425 communication professionals will continue their work within 16 working groups covering all areas of communication. He added that an inclusive, up-to-date, and robust communication guide aligned with the Türkiye Communication Model will be prepared.
"The global media order is the primary factor deepening the crisis of truth"
Head of Communications Altun pointed out that the line between "reality and illusion" and "truth and falsehood" has become increasingly blurred among masses and societies and noted the following:
"Unfortunately, the global media order we live in is the primary factor that deepens the crisis of truth we are talking about. Global media cartels are reproducing news, advertisements, and entertainment content in a way that reinforces international injustice and the exploitation system. These cartels are not unintentionally but deliberately attempting to legitimise global atrocities and render them invisible. They are deliberately and intentionally trying to portray the Israeli government, which is massacring journalists who are on a truth vigil to report the genocide in Gaza to the entire world, as well as innocent children, women, and civilians in Palestine, as blameless and innocent while attempting to make it invisible. We are faced with a deliberate lack of conscience and an immoral stance."
Head of Communications Altun emphasised that they were confronted with a global system that favoured the powerful over the righteous and that they witnessed numerous crises to which the international system failed to find solutions and was ineffective.
Head of Communications Altun stated that 2024 went down in history as a year marked by oppression, massacres, human rights violations, victimisation, and injustices in many parts of the world, in the face of which the so-called powerful states of the world and their organisations, responsible for ensuring peace and justice, did not speak out.
"Our struggle gains a much greater meaning"
Remarking that it was once again seen how international organisations became dysfunctional, especially in the conflict in Syria, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the massacre in Palestine, Head of Communications Altun said, "In the current state of the world, the stance adopted by our country and our struggle with the motto of justice for everyone gains a much greater meaning, turning into a source of pride for all of us, a matter of pride and a source of hope for humanity."
Head of Communications Altun emphasised that the international community has also recognised Türkiye's constructive role under the strong leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and its contributions to the pursuit of stability of regional states in an environment where global governing mechanisms collapsed, and he continued:
"Recent developments in Syria have once again proved that Türkiye is on the right side of history with its humanitarian foreign policy. Our policy of safeguarding the territorial integrity and unitary structure of Syria, a neighbouring country with which we have profound ties, and preventing terrorist organisations from influencing the future of the region has begun to substantiate on the ground. As Türkiye, we will make every effort to establish a democratic, pluralistic, peaceful, and prosperous Syria that embraces all ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups."
"Our Palestinian cause embodies matters of humanity, conscience, and justice"
Head of Communications Altun remarked that the Palestinians are also brotherly people to whom Türkiye has consistently extended its friendly support, alongside Syria, and stated:
"Our Palestinian cause transcends mere geography and embodies matters of humanity, conscience, and justice. Since October 7, 2023, the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has persisted without interruption. The Israeli genocide in Gaza has resulted in the ruthless massacre of over 45,000 people to date. Türkiye and our President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have been the most vocal in the face of this oppression.
Türkiye submitted a declaration of intervention in the genocide case against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In an effort to put an end to Israeli occupation of Gaza and its atrocities against Palestinian civilians, we have consistently urged the international public to take action. In this process, all of our media institutions, including the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), Anadolu Agency (AA), and private media organisations, have made a concerted effort to expose Israel's atrocities in Gaza to the world, and their efforts have yielded success. In one respect, they have exposed Israel's disinformation while also providing a platform for the oppressed Palestinian people to be heard by the rest of the world."
Head of Communications Altun asserted that humanitarian aid was provided to the people of Gaza and Palestine using all available resources, emphasising Türkiye's active diplomatic efforts to address conflicts in nearly every region facing oppression and grief.
Highlighting Türkiye's recent efforts in promoting world peace were demonstrated in Africa, Head of Communications Altun stated, "The dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia was resolved by the leader-to-leader diplomacy of our President, and a significant crisis was overcome thanks to the Ankara Declaration facilitated by Türkiye's mediation. This peace has clearly demonstrated that an international politics based on justice and rights is indeed achievable and has been documented in history."
Emphasising that Türkiye's peaceful and humanitarian diplomacy has also yielded favourable outcomes for the grain crisis that stemmed from the Russia-Ukraine war, Head of Communications Altun stated:
"During a period in which the world was grappling with a food crisis, Türkiye once again exhibited its status as a strategic and compassionate power through its role in the establishment of the Grain Corridor. Despite the challenges in the global arena and the ring of fire in our region, this stabilising role of our country is undoubtedly the outcome of the nationalisation, liberation, and growth movement that we have been pursuing in all sectors with the objective of a 'fully independent Türkiye' for the past 22 years under the leadership of our President."
Noting that as the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, they were working with all their strength in Türkiye's honourable struggle against powerful nations for the survival of our country and efforts towards justice for all humanity, Head of Communications Altun stated that they were striving to institutionalise communication as a discipline from the beginning.
4 million 590 thousand applications to CİMER finalised
Providing information about the practices implemented by the Directorate of Communications, Head of Communications Altun stated that 4 million 590 thousand applications received by CİMER in 2024 were meticulously finalised with the support of all institutions.
Emphasising the significance of establishing connections with young people, who are the future of Türkiye, on various occasions and the importance of the "State Incentives Promotion Days" aimed at this purpose, the Head of Communications Altun stated that they built a bridge between the opportunities offered by the state and the ideals of young people.
Stating that they are making intensive efforts to establish a robust network of relationships and interaction in the international arena, the Head of Communications Altun mentioned that they have signed bilateral agreements with 22 countries in the field of media and communication so far.
Head of Communications Altun indicated that STRATCOM, which has rapidly evolved into one of the world's leading summits in the field of strategic communication in a short period, has emerged as a platform that fosters collaboration among various countries, bringing together policymakers and communication professionals.
Emphasising the significance of the "Citizen Diplomat" initiative they launched in public diplomacy, the Head of Communications Altun stated that their public diplomacy activities, characterised by wide participation and a multidimensional approach, focused on the solutions Türkiye offers to global challenges.
Head of Communications Altun said:
"In this context, we have organised and continue to organise a series of panels in many countries, from South Africa to America, to ensure that our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's calls of 'The world is bigger than five' and 'A fairer world is possible' resonate more strongly in the international community." In this regard, we will be holding another large symposium in London in February under the title 'A fairer world is possible.' Moreover, we have also shared with the national and international public the Zero Waste Project, which is championed by First Lady Emine Erdoğan and demonstrates Türkiye's leading role in environmental and climate change diplomacy, through a communication campaign that is accompanied by the 'Türkiye's Green Development Initiative' and 'Türkiye's Zero Waste Journey for a Habitable World' books. We took the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, of which the 28th session was held in Dubai and the 29th in Baku, as an opportunity to showcase Türkiye's environmentalist vision and Zero Waste movement worldwide."
Head of Communications Altun stated that media and press are among the important responsibilities of the Directorate of Communications and that the Directorate has issued 27,000 press cards thus far.
Highlighting their ongoing intensive efforts in this area, from enhancing media members' rights to national and international press briefings on current issues, Head of Communications Altun said, "The upcoming period will be one where we focus on internationalisation within the framework of the 'Türkiye's Communication Model,' strengthening our media collaborations in different geographies and deepening our sphere of influence. In addition, we will continue to institutionalise the combat against disinformation as one of our critical fields of work. I wish that systematic disinformation activities did not undermine the media and communication climate, relieving us of the need to make efforts in this regard."
"We have so far eliminated over two thousand fake news and black propaganda attempts"
Head of Communications Altun, stressing that they will continue to institutionalise the fight against disinformation as one of their critical fields of work, said, "With intensive work of our Centre for Combating Disinformation, we have so far eliminated over two thousand instances of fake news and black propaganda targeting our country."
Stating that there are close to 150 books in 10 languages published by the Publications of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications so far, the Head of Communications Altun said that periodical and non-periodical publications serve as an open source for citizens and policy documents both for the state institutions and international counterparts.
The workshop will involve 16 artificial intelligence participants
Stating that they have constantly updated cyber security infrastructure and prioritised domestic and national software projects in order to support Türkiye's digital independence and cyber sovereignty, the Head of Communications Altun said:
"Within this framework, I would like to state that we will be having our first-ever experience together today, here. 16 artificial intelligence participants, developed by our Directorate and coded exclusively for each working group, will also attend the workshop and contribute to the consultation mechanisms in thematic disciplines. Also evaluating this experience will be a reference for our future works."
The Head of Communications, Altun, concluded his remarks by stating that he believes the concrete outputs, suggestions, and evaluations resulting from the event will make significant contributions to the field of communications.
