Kimse Yok Mu hosts international experts for social media benefits conference

The keynote speaker for Friday's meeting was Andrei Abramov, the former chief of the NGO branch of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mehmet Yaman)
The keynote speaker for Friday's meeting was Andrei Abramov, the former chief of the NGO branch of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mehmet Yaman)


Date posted: May 18, 2015

ZEYNEP KARATAŞ / ISTANBUL

The Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anyone There?) Foundation hosted an international conference titled “Social Media for Good” in Istanbul on Friday, drawing a wide range of international experts in journalism and social media to discuss ways of making positive contributions via the Internet.

The keynote speaker for Friday’s meeting was Andrei Abramov, the former chief of the NGO branch of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). He noted, “The role of information and communications technology (ICT) has been, and continues to be, crucial to the development of an effective and beneficial global civil society, since they enable the necessary interconnectedness across borders, the free flow of ideas, the exchange of thoughts and the process of consensus building that form the backbone of a civil society of global scope.”

Abromov added: “We must extend the benefits of information and telecommunication technologies to every citizen in the world. We must bridge the digital divide and turn it into a digital opportunity.” In this vein, Zainul Abid Kottakulath of BBC News India gave a presentation titled “Hashtags of Hope: How Social Media has transformed the World into a Better Place” during which he discussed ways in which social media can draw global attention to an underreported issues, prompting government action and altering the focus of mainstream media.

Kottakulath also mentioned an interesting development. The Facebook Safety Check, which was launched in October 2014, detects when the Facebook user is located near major natural disasters, and asks whether the user is safe. The user can simply click the “I am safe” button, and Facebook will post this information to the user’s profile.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented in reference to the new application: “When disasters happen, people need to know their loved ones are safe. It’s moments like this that being able to connect really matters.” Kottakulath also stressed that social media has influenced the ways in which people engage in activism, often by using hashtags and sharing posts. Social media activism is often called “clicktivism” or “slacktivism,” and its effectiveness is a subject of much debate.

As the speaker explained, “Even though online campaigns make an impression in cyberspace, they are also perceived as being passive and lazy.” In another presentation titled “The Role of Social Media for NGO’s Working to Create Awareness Around and Prevent Online Victimization,” experts discussed the potential negative outcomes that that accompany the widespread use and advancement of social media.

Today’s Zaman asked the speaker, Professor Jaishankar Karuppan of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, about the current problem of teams of Internet trolls (often referred to as AK trolls), who are commissioned to target and harass oppositional media by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

“I think that some governments are against citizens who are politically active. It is something that happens in the US as well, when people like [Edward] Snowden reveal government secrets. [It depends] on who is tagging on which side of the fence. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, and this carries over online. So probably, what the activist is doing, the government sees as an attack,” Karuppan responded, adding that it is unethical on the part of the government to engage in attacks on social media.

Source: Today's Zaman , May 15, 2015


Related News

Turkish businessmen have first iftar with Syrian refugees in Hatay

A group of Turkish businessman traveled to Kilis province on Wednesday to join an iftar dinner with Syrian refugees, according to media reports. After iftar, one of the Syrian refugees gave a speech in Turkish, saying: “We are refugees here and you have left your homes and your children and you have come here to have iftar with us. We are very happy and grateful for what you have done for us.”

Turkey: ‘Exclusion for all’ state

Indeed, just last week a columnist in a pro-government daily argued that officials in certain government institutions have been expelled over their alleged ties to the Hizmet movement. This is no different from a witch hunt. In a civilized society, expelling qualified professionals because of their sympathy for a religious and social movement can only be described as discrimination.

Ahmet Şık’s book and Ergenekon’s media campaign (1)

Within Turkey’s ultranationalist camps, supporters of the Kemalist system have already extended their support to the Ergenekon network. So there is a sizable community in Turkey that believes whatever is said by a suspect in the Ergenekon case. Emre Uslu, Wednesday 28 December 2011 The Odatv trial has finally begun after months of waiting. The […]

[Hizmet’s] Prep schools and civilized debate

The prep-school debate has recently revisited Turkey’s agenda after periodically ebbing and flowing since the 1980s. For some time, the government has been mulling its plan to transform the prep schools. However, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that they would shut down the prep schools, tensions skyrocketed.

Erdogan critic calls jailing of his mother and brother ‘perverse’ and ‘politically motivated’

A high-profile critic of the Turkish government has described the jailing of his 75-year-old mother and brother to a combined 91-year sentence as “ludicrous” and “perverse”. Akin Ipek said the ‘human rights abuses’ against his family were unacceptable in any civilised country.

A warning from and for a troubled land – how easily a democracy can be dismantled

Recently a messenger came to Colorado with dark warnings from a troubled land: Abdulhamit Bilici, the former editor-in-chief of Zaman, Turkey’s go-to newspaper before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s brutal crackdown. You don’t often meet people like Abdulhamit Bilici in the United States. You almost can’t believe that someone with his backstory sits before you.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Alevi problems deeper than they seem, opinion leaders agree

Are Turkey’s torture chambers back?

More than 60 countries attend panel organized by GYV at UN

Collective punishment [of Hizmet movement]

Hizmet and March 30 elections: What happened? (2)

MHP: Gov’t should not harass its citizens who open Turkish schools abroad

Gülen movement forms supranational new elite

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News