The 9th Public Informatics Summit was hosted by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority. Organized under the theme “Informatics in the Turkey Century” due to the 100th anniversary of the Republic, the summit was attended by Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of Health Huzeyfe Yılmaz, President of the Public Informatics Association Assoc. Prof. Dr. İzzet Gökhan Özbilgin, and Chairman of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu.
In his speech at the event, Deputy Minister Sayan began by celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. Sayan stated, “I believe that our country will advance confidently towards becoming a leading nation in every field within the framework of the Turkey Century vision and embrace a much stronger future.”
Noting that the world has been going through a difficult period recently, Sayan said, “I strongly condemn Israel's massacre in Palestine, which is taking place before the eyes of humanity and being silently watched by major economies that define themselves as civilized, and even fanned by some. I wish mercy to those who died among our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and urgent healing to the wounded.”
Stating that significant changes have occurred in every aspect of life with the digital transformations in recent years, Sayan said, “The fundamental elements requiring digital change are evaluated under two main headings: increased access to the internet and demand for mobile applications. I believe that in the process of digitalization, the public not only needs to adapt to this but also has a regulatory and guiding role.”
Emphasizing that Turkey is advancing confidently on the path to becoming a “smart state,” Sayan said, “The technology Turkey possesses today and the e-Government services it offers in this context are also cited as examples on international platforms. In the European Commission 2022 e-Government Benchmarking Report, Turkey rose 13 places compared to the previous year and ranked 16th with 72% e-government maturity capacity.”
Emphasizing that producing technology is of critical importance for the future of countries, Deputy Minister Sayan stated, “We have always believed in and trusted our own resources. We have said that for our country to progress even stronger, we need to be a country that produces technology, not just uses it. Our main point of action is to produce high-tech products domestically and nationally within the framework of our President's National Technology Move vision, and to strengthen our country's journey to be among the world's strongest states in a manner befitting the Turkey Century.”
Sayan concluded his speech by saying, “As the Ministry, we continue our work in cooperation with all our stakeholders so that our citizens can benefit from the most advanced technological services. 5G is on our agenda. On one hand, we follow global developments to provide services with the most advanced standards, and on the other hand, we continue our 5G-related work with our domestic producers. Ensuring the transition to 5G with our domestic and national products to the highest possible extent, with our reliable infrastructures, and transferring the experience we gain to next-generation communication technologies forms our primary goal.”
Chairman Karagözoğlu: Qualified human resources in information and communication technologies are our greatest treasure
Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, Chairman of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, also delivered an opening speech at the summit.
Stating that digital transformation is taking place in public services as in every field, Karagözoğlu said, “The primary function of digital transformation in the public sector is to ensure transformation within public institutions themselves and between them. The second and value-creating function is to provide services to citizens quickly and reliably in the digital environment. I believe that special emphasis should be placed on the use of domestic and national technologies in this regard.”
Emphasizing the importance of providing data security at the highest level in the environment of increasing speed and interaction, Karagözoğlu said, “We see cybersecurity as a matter of national security. In this context, an important component of the cybersecurity activities carried out by BTK is USOM, the National Cyber Incident Response Center. With USOM under BTK, we protect our country against threats in the cyber world. As of October 2023, more than 2,100 sectoral SOMEs and more than 7,200 cybersecurity experts registered in the SOME Communication Platform operated under USOM are protecting our country's cyber domain.”
Karagözoğlu said, “We see transforming information into value as a strategic step. With the awareness that the path to this passes through education, through BTK Academy, we provide free training to numerous young people on artificial intelligence, coding, programming, and software, both face-to-face at our main campus and online for those who cannot access here, preparing our youth for the digital world of the future.”
Stating that the work in the technological field continues without slowing down in the 100th year of the Republic, Karagözoğlu concluded his speech by saying, “Great responsibilities fall on all of us for our country to develop and progress further. We are determined in our journey to reach the ‘Digital Turkey’ goal and turn our country into a high-tech production hub with breakthroughs in innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and blockchain required by the digital age.”