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Friday, June 4, 2021

“Those who produce information and are occupied in publishing should keep their relation with the digital world constantly updated”

“Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”

 

  • “Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”
  • “Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”
  • “Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”
  • “Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”
  • “Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”
  • “Bilgi üreten ve yayıncılık yapanlar, dijital dünya ile ilişkilerini sürekli güncel tutmalıdır”

 

Delivering the opening speech of the 8th Congress of Religious Publications, the President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş said, “It is a must for the individuals, institutions and organizations who produce information and are occupied in publishing to be aware of the opportunities and the risks of the digital world and keep their relations in this field constantly updated.”

The 8th Congress of Religious Publications that was organized by the Presidency of Religious Affairs with the title “Digital Publishing” started with the attendance of the President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş.

Attending the Congress through video conference system, the President of Religious Affairs Erbaş said that they always organized the Congress of Religious Publications in the axis of a current agenda each time and they determined the eighth of the Congress as “Digital Publishing” due to the fact that information technologies became a natural part of the daily life.

Recording that the most essential element that deemed this Age of Information as privileged is information, and technology that is a reflection of information, the President Erbaş stated that information is the most effective power and the biggest opportunity of all times, not just this age.

Stating that it is understood from verses mentioning about the creation process of the first man, Adam (as), that the value that deemed the human as reverend in the field of existence and among the created is information, the President Erbaş talked as, “As a matter of fact, the reference point of humanly actions such as learning, understanding and explaining that makes the existence and life meaningful is information. Especially the scientific information that has been obtained step by step through the historical process in the axis of the relations and needs of the human with the object has a non-disputable effect on both individual and social development, change and transformation. Any kind of invention, exploration and innovation about the human and life have been materialized thanks to information.”

Drawing the attention to the fact that the invention of writing is one of the most important events of the history, the President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“In this way, information could be recorded and preserved, shared and multiplied and generalized and accordingly, gained permanency. However, the forms of communication and interaction have changed and such great transformations have been experienced in the social, economic, political and cultural fields. Every innovation and every invention that have been presented in order to meet a need have brought bigger innovations to the agenda as a new need. For instance; the invention of writing brought the invention of paper to the agenda as a need so that information could be preserved, and accordingly, this invention formed the basis of several technical developments that appeared through the historical process. These series of inventions which have information in their center have carried almost all of the world to a digital age where everything gain meaning with figures at this point that we have been experiencing.”

Recording that the biggest factor in the process of digitalization is technology, the President Erbaş evaluated that the technological developments that facilitate, give pace to and generalize the production and the sharing of information allows any kind of information being transmitted to the digital environment and facilitates the circulation of information all over the world simultaneously without a limitation of time and place, and accordingly, this situation distracted the people from traditional tools and methods at the point of producing, accessing and processing information, and majorly directed them to the digital environment.

“The effectiveness of the activities of publishing that cannot be integrated with the digital world shall decrease”

Reminding the fact that reading, writing, executing commercial transactions and providing communication and interaction trough social media via digital means have, nowadays, happened to become a part of the daily life, the President Erbaş continued his words as follows:

“All these developments force humanity to radical transformations in the field of publishing as in all other fields of life. Scientific researches and discussions that have been performed, and dissertations and anticipations that have been presented on the matter are extremely notable in terms of the fact that they show the potential that the digitalization carries regarding the future.

When we consider the current use of the internet and digital means, it is clear that digital publishing shall rise to a more privileged position than the printed publishing, in the future. Therefore, this picture shows that publishing activities that cannot be integrated with the digital world shall reduce their effectiveness in social and global dimensions.”

Underlining the fact that every technological innovation has disadvantages as well as advantages thereof in some kind, the President Erbaş said that the most important advantage of digitalization is that it facilitates the production of information and access to information while the disadvantage thereof is that it poses serious risks at the point of information security and access to authentic information.

“We must ensure that our young people use digital technology without being exposed to moral corruption”

Noting that the right and the wrong, the truth and the lie, the benefit and the harm, the good and the bad are intertwined in the internet environment, the President of Religious Affairs Erbaş underlined that this situation clearly indicates how much today’s people who produce, transmit, share and use information are in need of information ethics.

President Erbaş pointed out that it is of great importance to raise people's awareness of the use of the internet, and that it is essential to develop opportunities and tools that will enable children and young people to use digital technology without being exposed to moral corruption.

“Those who have a vision of future cannot remain indifferent to the realities of this age”

Emphasizing that people, institutions and organizations that produce and broadcast information should be aware of the possibilities and risks of the digital world and keep their relations with this field constantly updated, President Erbaş said: “Because no individual and institution or organization who have a vision of future related to the people, life and the world cannot remain indifferent to the realities of this age. On the other hand, it should not be ignored that the imagination, direction and future of today's children and youth, whose first toys are electronic devices, are largely shaped by the actors of the digital world. Therefore, we cannot afford to leave this field empty and stay away from digital channels."

“With our Department of Digital Publications, we have brought more effectiveness to our publishing activities that we execute on the digital platforms”

Stating that the Presidency of Religious Affairs has been effectively using all kinds of publication and broadcasting technology in order to enlighten the society with authentic religious information since its foundation and that the Presidency has never hesitated to use the opportunities brought by the age by constantly renewing itself, the President Erbaş said, “As a concrete step of this, with our Department of Digital Publications that we have established within the body of the General Directorate of Religious Publications, we have brought more effectiveness to our publishing and broadcasting activities that we have been already executing on the digital platforms for a long time.”

“We aim to carry the effectiveness of our Presidency of Religious Affairs in the digital field to a further point”

Noting that while they are planning to increase the quality and quantity of existing publications, on the other hand, they aim to carry the effectiveness of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, which has a wide body of knowledge on traditional broadcasting, to a higher point in the digital field, President Erbaş continued his speech as follows:

“For this reason, we attach great importance to the scientific and intellectual developments, approaches, and in-depth discussions that you, our esteemed scholars, will present here. Because this field requires scientific competence, comprehensive consultation, and a special extent of sensitivity.

I would like to express that we, the Presidency of Religious Affairs, are aware of our responsibility in the field of the digital publishing and what the society expects from us. In this context, it is an important responsibility for us to meet the new generation with qualified publications that can interest them, and address directly to their needs, skills and inner worlds.

“We have an obligation to present the authentic religious information with the rightest methods and means”

Therefore, we have an obligation to present the authentic religious information with the rightest methods and means to today’s people who perform almost every kind of action and relationship on the digital environment. For this reason, I believe deep in my heart that this Congress of ours whose opening we have just performed shall bring important developments in the field of digital publishing and contribute to our services in this field that contains a great deal of potential so that they become more fruitful.

I would like to repeat an approach that I emphasize on every occasion: The activities that we must perform in order for the goodness and beauty to dominate all over the world are always many more than what we have already performed. That is, what we shall do is more than what we did. We must continue to work and produce with this awareness. What falls upon us is to work harder and get more tired by focusing on what we need to do.

With these feelings and thoughts, I hope that our congress would be useful. Here I request the Almighty Allah (swt) accept our efforts and deeds as a sincere attempt that is in accordance with His consent, and I greet you all with affection.”

Understanding the Digital World, Digital Publishing: Opportunities and Risks, Digital Publishing with Religious Content, Digital Publishing and Religious Education, Media Literacy in the Digital Age, Digital Trends and New Religious Movements shall be discussed during the congress, with various aspects thereof.

The 8th Congress of Religious Publications that shall continue for three days can be followed online at http://diyanetyayinlari.gov.tr, youtube/yayindiyanet, and the social media accounts of the congress.