On the 9th April and 15th May, the Democratic Progress Institute (DPI) held the first and second in a new series of Online events focusing on the role of new technologies in conflict resolution.
Participants, for the first event on 9th April, comprised DPI’s core youth group – young figures with diverse professional and political backgrounds from across Turkey (including Ankara, İstanbul, Mardin, Diyarbakır and Zonguldak), including political parties youth representatives (from AKP, CHP and HDP), civil society workers, social workers, university students, and academics. The participants for the 15th May roundtable comprised a group of diverse figures from across Turkey’s media, including senior journalists, columnists and broadcasters representing both mainstream and alternative media outlets, as well as from across the political and social spectrum.
The groups listened and engaged with an insightful presentation delivered by Dr Emre Korkmaz from the University of Oxford and Centre for Technology and Global Affairs at both roundtables. Dr Emre discussed the different ways in which technology can contribute to peace and democratisation, including the opportunities and challenges that surround utilising emerging technologies in a way that optimises the allocation of scarce resources, connects people and groups across borders, and helps relocate power from corporations and states to communities and individuals. The first roundtable also considered how young people, as the primary users of new technology, could be best placed to take advantage of the opportunities provided by new technologies and help break down the barriers to youth inclusion in conflict resolution processes. Whilst particular focus at the 15th May roundtable was given to technology that directly affects the media landscape, such as social media networks, the spread of misinformation and ‘deep fake’.
This Roundtable forms part of a larger series of activities planned in the context of the project: “Supporting inclusive dialogue at a challenging time in Turkey”, supported by the EU and the Norwegian government.