TRT World Forum 2023 Takes the Pulse of World Agenda
ISTANBUL
Launched in 2017 and held for the seventh time on 8-9 December this year with the theme “Thriving Together: Responsibilities, Actions and Solutions”, TRT World Forum 2023 was concluded. More than 150 speakers and more than one thousand participants from nearly 100 countries attended the forum, where global problems were discussed for two days.
TRT World Forum 2023, which drew great attention of the media worldwide this year as well with topics that are closely related to the world agenda, took place in İstanbul with the theme "Thriving Together: Responsibilities, Actions and Solutions". Policymakers, journalists, academics, experts from the field, and public and private sector representatives from around the world gathered at the international platform of the TRT World Forum.
10 public sessions and 8 roundtable meetings were held at the event, where regional and global issues were discussed in depth, proposals for possible solutions were presented and a basis of understanding was strengthened. Critical issues that concern the whole world, from global cooperation to leadership, from peace diplomacy to food security, from energy crisis to climate change, from migration to Islamophobia, from media and digitalization to disinformation, were taken up at the Forum, attended by more than 150 internationally renowned high-level speakers from different parts of the world.
On the first day of the TRT World Forum, one of the largest and most high-profile forums held in the media sector worldwide, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun, and TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı delivered the inaugural speeches. At the opening ceremony, a short film was screened featuring a group of children representing children from regions most affected by war, conveying the search for the "key to peace" in the world. Following the screening, the children acting in the film presented President Erdoğan with the "key to peace" as a gift to represent Türkiye's efforts for world peace. A painting representing the ‘100th Year’ logo was also offered to President Erdoğan as a gift by TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı.
"TRT World Forum 2023" started with a special session titled "Vision of Türkiye’s Century: Türkiye as a System-Building Actor", where the values of Türkiye’s Century vision and the struggle for great Türkiye were clarified, as this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Republic. Among the public session topics were: “Vision of Türkiye’s Century: Türkiye as a System-Building Actor”, “Israel's War in Gaza: Humanitarian Crisis and Prospects for Peace?”, “The Return of Geopolitics: Rivalries and Re-alignments in the New Century”, “Public Broadcasting in the Digital Era: Challenges and Opportunities”, “Remaking the Global Economy”, “All-Knowing AI: Creative Potential or Disruptive Evil?”, “Dis/United Nations: Working Towards Effective Multilateralism”, “Empowering Humanity: Addressing Social Crises and Inequalities”, and “ The Critical Nexus of Food, Water and Energy Security”.
The public sessions at the major event, where central topics on the world agenda were discussed for two days, saw the participation of more than 150 renowned figures from the international arena as speakers, including Former Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Awn Al-Khasawneh, Former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, Former Secretary of State for Europe in Portugal Dr. Bruno Maçães, Former Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Qatar Dr. Hessa bint Sultan Al Jaber, Former Foreign Minister of Mexico Jorge Castañeda, Former Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Malta Dr. Evarist Bartolo, Director of CeSPI Observatory on Türkiye Valeria Giannotta, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN Dr. Riyadh H. Mansour, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum Mirek Dušek, Director General of International Center for Migration Policy Development – ICMPD Michael Spindelegger and United Nations World Food Programme Türkiye Director and Country Representative Stephen Cahill.