Dialogue for Effective Communication on EU Issues Workshop was held in Ankara on 2-3 May 2016.
The opening speech of the workshop which brought together representatives from media, civil society and public organizations was made by the Ministry for EU Affairs Deputy Undersecretary Dr. Mehmet Cangir He said they believed that the synergy and collaborative culture to be created by the active participation of those three sectors in the negotiation process would accelerate Turkey’s EU accession process.
The participants of the first session in which the role of media, CSOs and public in EU countries is discussed were Marco Carnesecchi, Brussels Representative of the European Network for Independent Living (ENIL); Haluk Nuray, Permanent Representative of Economic Development Foundation in Brussels; and Maria Laura, honorary founding Chairperson of the Europe Press Club.
During the second session, the representatives of the organizations which implemented projects under Civil Society Dialogue informed the audience about the activities held to inform public about EU issues and to strengthen communication. The panelists were Murat Akbıyık, President, YouthArt; Şakir Gürel, Chairman, Ünye TV; and Arzu Akgün, Company Partner and Editor, Aral Group.
The first day of the workshop ended with the panel titled Reflections from the Dialogue Seminars. Zeynel Lüle, Journalist; Abdülrezak Altun, Dean, Communication Faculty, Ankara University; and Andreas Treske, Faculty Member, Communication & Design Faculty, Bilkent University, shared the experiences from the dialogue seminars held in 6 provinces and Brussels study visit. They talked about what each sector should do to inform public about the EU values and the effects of these values on daily lives through their professional experience.
The second day of the workshop started with the presentations of the Brussels Study visit participants. Sibel Mehter Aykın from Akdeniz University, Yasin Ali Türkeri from the Association of Documentary Filmmakers and Sibel Turan Akan from Anadolu University Communication Sciences Faculty shared their experiences from the viewpoints of public, civil society and media respectively.
The session continued with group work and the participants worked on a series of questions in order to evaluate the outcomes of the Dialogue Seminars and follow-on activities:
- Is there any significant change in the way that you and/or your organisation works as a result of participating in Dialogue Seminar activities? What has changed?
- What recommendations do you have for how representatives from each sector can further this dialogue?
- What recommendations for the Ministry for EU Affairs on how they might further facilitate the process?
The effect of the dialogue seminars was assessed and recommendations for planning the activities for the next phase were developed at the end of the group work.
