2nd Turkish Informatics Summit End Statement

The 2nd Turkish Informatics Summit, organized on May 10-11, 2004 in Ankara with the contributions of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of Education Hüseyin Çelik, the relevant NGOs and public institutions in order to help the transformation of the country into an Information Society and evaluate the progress made since the 1st Summit, states:

In order to make Turkey one of the most competitive Information Economies and to ensure her transformation into an Information Society, the following must be done:

National collaboration must be called for the e-Transformation Turkey project to successfully include e-Europe+ initiative, and the public and private sectors along with the policies of the society must both participate in the project.

Tranformation projects must urgently be identified by NGOs, universities and research institutions, taking into account the general policies and the National Information Society Strategy built by the e-Transformation Turkey Executive Board. The business processes of the public sector must be re-identified in order to increase efficiency and citizen satisfaction. The public reform, local administration laws and e-Government applications must be carried out together and in coordination with one another.

The “Information Society” will be based on communication infrastructure. Therefore, widespread use of the Internet must be ensured nationwide through an inexpensive, fast and safe infrastructure.

All legal re-arrangements needed for the liberalisation of the communications sector must be swiftly made, licences must be issued, fair competition atmosphere be established, and public or private monopolies be prevented.

A national program must be launched to make informatics a strategic sector. Necessary arrangements must be made to turn Turkey into a coutnry that produces her own informatics technologies. This stage should also involve building strategies to make the sector more outgoing. The “perfection center” project in software must be realized as soon as possible.

The legal infrastructure for transformation into an Information Economy and Information Society must be made. The Law for the Protection of Personal Data must be passed urgently. Instead of the exceptions brought with the Information Acquisiton Rights Law, citizens should be able to reach all information easily. To make electronic signature common, those articles in the law against the principles of competition must be revised. Policies of national information safety must be identified and used in e-Government applications.

The educational system must be restructured to reaise creative, innovative, flexible, and questioning individuals. In addition to the MEB projects already launched to reach these ends:

  • Human resources must be improved with the lifelong learning approach that si compatible with the Information Society,
  • Informatics literacy must be emphasised,
  • Career-specific certificate programs must be launched to raise human power for the Informatics sector,
  • Mechanisms must be developed to encourage hybrid and distance education services and to evaluate them.

Information Economy and Information Society must be based on the National R&D and Innovation System.

  • The missing loops in the system must be found and, in this context, the Turkish Research Area must be created. This will enable integration with the European Research Area.
  • Public supply policies, especially those of the defense sector, must be used to make Turkey more efficient in informatics-related R&D and innovation. It is essential to develop “R&D leaders” in order to change the existing concept of product supply in the public sector and TSK and introcduce those such as “R&D based supply”, “technology supply”, “technology management” and “R&D management”.
  • Priority in the use of resources should be given to R&D in Informatics.
  • An assessment, monitoring and evaluation cycle must be established for the added value created by R&D to increase.
  • In light of the developments brought by the Technopolises and relevant regulations; national capital investments and exports in software, content, and service production, and foreign capital must be brought into the country. Strategies must be established to reach the average EU country standards with respect to these issues .
  • Company oriented innovation systems must be developed.

Industrial solutions must be found to increase the competitive power of KOBİs and diversify export opportunities. e-Business and e-Commerce must be supported through educational and consultational activities.

Our country has prepared the necessary strategies, models and thinking to transform into an information society. No more energy or time must be wasted. Within the scope of transformation, e-Turkey projects must be launched.

The Summit Organising Committee will get together every three months to evaluate progress. News will be announced to the public on www.bilisimsurasi.org.tr. 11.05.2004

Emrehan Halıcı
Organising Committee Chair
Turkish Intelligence Foundation
Chair

Rahmi Aktepe
Turkish Informatics Association
Chair

Faruk Eczacıbaşı
Turkish Informatics Foundation
Chair


Erol Bilecik
Informatics Industrialists
and Businessmen Association Chair

Sahir Çörtoğlu
Turkish Technology Developement Foundation
General Secretary


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