CIDA24 Symposium Held in Northern Cyprus, Hosted by the Faculty of Communication at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU)
The CIDA24 International Communication in the Digital Age Symposium took place between November 28-30, 2024, at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in Gazimağusa, Northern Cyprus. The theme of this international symposium, where more than 60 papers were presented, was Artificial Intelligence (AI).
For two days, scholars presented their research and papers on the new era of communication shaped by artificial intelligence in two separate conference halls, with sessions conducted in both Turkish and English.
CIDA International is a biennial international symposium jointly organized by the Communication Research Association (İLAD), founded in 1989, and the Council of Communication Faculty Deans (İLDEK), established in 2000. İLDEK comprises deans from communication faculties in Turkey and international institutions affiliated with the Turkish higher education system.
A major highlight of CIDA24 was a special surprise during the opening ceremony for Prof. Dr. Aysel Aziz, President of İLAD – Communication Research Association. The main conference hall of the Faculty of Communication at Eastern Mediterranean University, the host institution, was officially named after Prof. Dr. Aysel Aziz. The honor was arranged as a surprise by the current Dean, Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy, who was a student of Prof. Aziz in the 1990s, when she was one of the founders of the Faculty of Communication at EMU.
During the naming ceremony, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Osman Karatepe and Dean Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy joined Prof. Dr. Aysel Aziz in cutting the ribbon. Holding back tears of joy, Prof. Aziz expressed her gratitude and humorously remarked, “At the Faculty of Communication at Ankara University, my portrait was placed in the museum—there, I had already become a museum piece!”
The Communication in the Digital Age Symposium series is hosted by various communication faculties. The first symposium was held in 2018 at Mersin University, the second in 2020 at İzmir University of Economics, and the third, in 2022, was organized under the leadership of Ankara University Faculty of Communication (İLEF), with support from Başkent University, Hacettepe University, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, as well as Çankaya, Atılım, and Ankara Social Sciences Universities.
