Associate Prof. Akın Ünver Takes Up Two Prestigious International Positions

Associate Prof. Akın Ünver Named As One of the 11 Founding Members of the “Digital Democracy Network” Forged This Year Under the Umbrella of “Carnegie Endowment For International Peace”

Associate Prof. Akın Ünver, a faculty member at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Özyeğin University, has been named as one of the 11 founding members of the “Digital Democracy Network” forged this year under the umbrella of “Carnegie Endowment For International Peace”, a Washington-based international think-tank organization. The network brings together senior executives and bureaucrats as well as leading research faculty and scientists from important NATO member states. Uniting these two distinct fields together, the network produces important research and strategy development publications.

Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1910, "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace” is renowned as one of the top 5  influential foreign policy think tanks in the world. "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace" develops research networks on current issues and global emergencies in certain periods, and if it lacks the necessary expertise on these issues, external experts are also invited on board. The think-tanks’ newest addition "Digital Democracy Network” stands out as a scientific community that is responsible for researching how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, cloud computing and blockchain will affect processes such as politics, diplomacy, security, and democracy, and what kind of strategies NATO member states and large international organizations need to develop in order to adapt to these technologies.  Furthermore, the Network reviews strategy development requests received from the leading international organizations including the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, the World Bank, IMF, and Munich Security Conference, and periodically meets to prepare technical reports to respond to these requests and questions. These reports are then shared with the strategic planning departments of the participating institutions and organizations, and play an important role in determining their global positions and policies.

Prof. Ünver Elected as One of the Six Experts to Serve On Tiktok’s Safety Advisory Council  

The second international role was assigned to Associate Prof. Akın Ünver by the social media platform TikTok. Associate Prof. Akın Ünver was named as one of the six inaugural experts invited to join TikTok’s Safety Advisory Council for Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENA-T) region. TikTok has seen a record growth over the last three years, reaching 1 billion users. TikTok’s Safety Advisory Council was launched to prevent content that may have adverse effects on young users’ psychological and emotional health or otherwise that is violent or inciting violence. Made up of a panel of leading subject-matter experts in the field, the council will meet to develop new ideas on how to cope up with negative content.

TikTok has assigned a separate safety advisory council for each region, marking a first in the sector with its decision to develop separate strategies that will reflect the home region’s cultural, geographical, and ethical values. The Safety Advisory Council for the MENA-T Region, which is the newest addition to the regional councils, invited Associate Prof. Ünver on board in recognition of his research on digital radicalism, and illegal groups’ projections on social media, which stands out as one of a kind in the respective field. The council will determine TikTok’s content policy and develop new strategies for content moderation, in particular for TikTok’s most important security gaps and user safety.

We would like to congratulate Associate Prof. Akın Ünver on his new positions, and wish him continued success.