The Corporate Governance Summit, organized by the Corporate Governance Association, was held under the auspices of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK).
The importance of governance, which is distinguished from the concept of management by features such as transparency and equality, was discussed at the program held at BTK. The opening of the program was attended by Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, BTK President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, Corporate Governance Association Board Chairman Emre Alıç, and numerous public representatives.
In his opening speech, Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan highlighted the place of governance in the public sector. Stating that professionalism is important in this regard, Sayan emphasized the importance of acting together with stakeholders. Noting that they are carrying out corporate projects and activities especially in the field of information technologies and communication, Sayan stressed institutionalization.
Stating that a good management system must be established for global competition, Sayan said, “As proof of this, we can point to the Presidential Government System. With this new system, we have left behind the clumsiness that existed in the old system. We have taken important steps to bring e-government and cyber security coordination under the same roof. As the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, we are working both to benefit from the blessings of technology and to protect our country and citizens against possible risks. In addition to all these, we are constantly on alert by taking necessary measures against possible disruptions. We can also call this strengthening our immune system,” he said.
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Appreciate Our Institutions' Support for Domestic and National Production
Sayan reminded of the studies conducted to ensure cyber security for this purpose. Touching upon USOM's activities, Sayan said, “The Cyber Incident Response Teams, established in relevant institutions and organizations and numbering over 1,000, and nearly 3,000 registered cyber security experts serving in these teams, continue to protect our country against cyber attacks day and night under the coordination of USOM. In doing so, we use our domestic and national software developed entirely with internal institutional resources: AVCI, AZAD, and KASIRGA,” and also reminded of the “Cyber Security Exercise” to be held under the BTK umbrella.
Touching upon the sensitivity they show in developing domestic and national technologies, Sayan said, “As the Ministry, we appreciate our institutions' support for domestic and national production by developing projects worth millions of dollars with their own resources. We contribute not only to institutional projects regarding the safe and conscious use of the internet for our youth, but also to the creation of a new development model for our country in enhancing the capacities of our young people and increasing qualified human resources to contribute to our country.”
Stating that one of their most important areas of work is to create a platform where children and young people with limited access to technology in our country can gain technology experience, Sayan emphasized the contribution of the attack made in the last 18 years to all their successes.
Sayan pointed out that instead of one-way management at all levels of management, a whole of relations based on mutual interaction should be adopted with a participatory, sharing, consistent, responsible, transparent, accountable, and fair approach.
President Karagözoğlu: Traditional Management Understanding is Now a Thing of the Past
BTK President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also touched upon the differences between governance and management. Referring to the impacts of changes in the world, especially in information and communication technologies, Karagözoğlu stated that this change did not bypass the management field. Expressing that the traditional management understanding in the world has been left behind, Karagözoğlu shared with the participants, “Although governance is derived from the word management, it is a term with a much broader meaning than management. Governance, which consists of effective resource use aimed at and a whole of trust-based relationships, is formed by the combination of communication and interaction concepts. 'Governance' emerges as a topic of great importance in terms of revealing the importance of communication between managers and the managed. In governance, rather than one side managing the others, a working system based on mutual interaction comes to the fore. Governance enables co-management with a participatory, sharing, consistent, responsible, transparent, accountable, and fair approach.”
Expressing that a heterarchical rather than hierarchical structure prevails in governance, Karagözoğlu said, “Corporate governance, which is of great importance for an institution to achieve its goals and improve its performance, is becoming widespread day by day. The main principles of corporate governance are effectiveness, consistency, transparency, fairness, accountability, participation/dissemination, and responsibility. Each of the items I listed is a very important condition for an institution to stand on its feet. The smallest weakness that may arise in this regard can cause many sectors to weaken or even disappear in a very short time. When evaluated from this perspective, it would be appropriate for an institution to use its resources in accordance with governance principles to be successful.”
Stating that as an institution, they act by taking all these conditions and changes into account, Karagözoğlu said, “We shape our work to act in coordination with all our employees for the widespread adoption of a transparent and equal management understanding. Thanks to the BTK Suggestion System developed by our Corporate Quality Department, we get the opinions of our personnel and guide our internal activities. Not only internally but also externally, we contribute to governance by constantly being in elbow contact, either by carrying out projects or organizing trainings. With the trainings organized by BTK Academy, 13,340 people have been trained to date. We aim to train 3,000 more people in the coming year. We do all these for more efficient and effective governance. We stand behind every job that will contribute to our country, homeland, and nation.”
The Corporate Governance Summit continued with keynote speeches following the opening speeches.