Open Call

• 27.10.2015
• Archive

Last month we organized the 13th Industry Congress themed “Confrontation with Mediocrity in the Economy, State, Democracy, Society and Companies; and Exit Strategies”. The conclusions of the congress were released as an Open Call. Unlike previous congresses, the conclusions were released in the form of an open call drawing written contribution of all participants and social media users online.

I would like to share with you the full text of the Open Call:

"The world is going through a new, major revolution. Granted, old answers no longer make a difference in a world shaped by humans and knowledge.

We are in an age of rapid scientific and technological developments, with digitization transforming not only the cyber world but the physical world as well. There are incredible new opportunities laid at the feet of humanity. The biggest mistake would be to try to understand the changing world with outdated, ineffective paradigms. The world as we know it is over. Countries which realize and accept this fact early enough will not only make substantial progress but will also lead change.

We in Türkiye need to focus on innovation not only in terms of production but in every other area. We need to build our perspective of life on innovation and take action accordingly.

We have hard time cooperating and co-creating in a world where boundaries disappear fast, distances are shortened and complexities abound. But humans, including those of us in Türkiye, are not sufficiently aware of this. We need to reorganize our systems, institutions, practices and mentality in a way that celebrates the benefits of cooperation.

Any initiative that fails to be human-oriented is bound for failure. The transformation we deem meaningful and valuable is one which liberates and improves the prosperity of humans. Individual efforts will not achieve this transformation. It is possible only through various activities of cooperation that complement each other. This Congress is the first spark of such initiative.

This country belongs to all of us! This is a beautiful and precious country! How lucky it is to be in a country with brilliant young people!

We believe that it's high time for change. Rather than expecting it from abroad, we will produce change here on these ancient territories.”

Our nation is going through hard times. We must never lose heart in the face of terrorism ravaging our country for some time. Just as we have done so far, I believe that we will prevail over these challenging times with our strong desire to live together.

Erdal Bahçıvan
Istanbul Chamber of Industry
Chairman of the Board