A Metaverse Event was Held in Istanbul. Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, who attended the opening, stated that the existence of a virtual universe is exciting.
The Metaverse was discussed in all its details at the Meta Xtopia event. At the opening of the event, Deputy Minister Sayan, who spoke about the contributions technology has brought to life, stated that the Metaverse is the latest point reached by change. Expressing that this situation is exciting, Sayan said, “It is very clear that the Metaverse will change the business dynamics we are accustomed to and, as a result, bring its own job definitions and opportunities, or transform existing jobs. When we look at the usage potential of the Metaverse by businesses and consumers, we see that it stands out with high potential in areas such as e-commerce, banking, and retail.”
Regarding the Metaverse market, Sayan also stated, “According to a research, the Metaverse market reached a size of 21 billion dollars in 2021, while it is expected to reach 28 billion dollars by the end of 2022. The fact that leading organizations in the technology world are competing with each other for the first time due to the Metaverse reveals the potential of this field. It is predicted that a market between 2 and 12 trillion dollars will form within different scenarios as digital experiences shift to the Metaverse universe, where the digital economy corresponds to 20 to 25% of the global economy.”
Sayan, who said that no widely accepted standards have yet emerged in this field, used the expressions, “It would not be wrong to say that the technological infrastructure of the Metaverse, which is currently used in limited areas and has been included in national policy by South Korea, is not yet at the desired level in terms of hardware and software. According to experts, there are obstacles to overcome and distances to cover for a true Metaverse experience.”
Deputy Minister Sayan: Metaverse's One-to-One Resemblance to the Real World is Possible with 5G
Emphasizing that the Metaverse's one-to-one resemblance to the real world is possible only thanks to rapid progress in virtual reality and 5G technologies, Sayan said, “Turkey is among the countries interested in the Metaverse. As is known, our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the upcoming period as a digital mobilization period at the Forum Metaverse event organized by the AK Party Information and Communication Technologies Presidency in March 2022. With the slogan ‘The future belongs to those who design it,’ he defined the task of managers as preparing our people and youth for this inevitable future in the most correct, safe, strong, and equipped manner. It was strongly emphasized that the necessary determination has been set by our President to catch the Metaverse technology from the very beginning, to be a producer and rule-setter rather than a consumer of this technology; thus, to benefit from its opportunities in the most superior way while possessing the necessary authority and means to prevent risks and harms. Thus, Turkey has taken its place among the leading countries demonstrating that it attaches importance to the Metaverse technological infrastructure at the state level worldwide.”
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Need a New Regulation for a More Effective Struggle
Regulations to prevent disinformation on social media were also on Minister Sayan’s agenda. Underscoring the need for a new regulation for a more effective struggle, Sayan said, “With the new legal regulation regarding these social networks being accepted by our Parliament and entering into force, I would like to state that an important step will have been taken to prevent the grievances formed for our citizens on social networks. However, it is clear that this benefit will be effectively carried out with the strengthening of cooperation mechanisms of Meta and similar companies. Therefore, we are ready to provide all kinds of support in terms of strengthening relations with our country and compliance processes with the law. We expect more contact, more cooperation, more transparency, and we want the speed of the solution processes for our citizens' complaints to be accelerated more than the current situation,” he concluded his speech.