The workshop titled “The Role of Public Relations in the Use of Natural Resources from the Perspectives of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change,” organized in collaboration with the UNESCO National Commission for Turkey and the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), was held in Ankara on May 12, 2025.

The workshop began with opening speeches by Sinan Kabaloğlu, President of Çiftay Mining Group; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zühtü Batı, Deputy General Manager of Turkish Petroleum Corporation; Veli Altundağ, Deputy General Manager of MTA; Afire Sever, Director General of Water Management at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; and Prof. Dr. Öcal Oğuz, President of the UNESCO National Commission for Turkey.

In the first session of the workshop, titled “Public Relations for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals,” Prof. Dr. G. Senem Gençtürk Hızal, Dean of the Faculty of Communication at Başkent University, gave a presentation titled “From Informative Discourse to Participatory Practice, From the Periphery of Silence to the Center of Activism.” In her speech, Hızal emphasized that sustainable development is not only a technical process but also an area of social, cultural, and discursive transformation, drawing attention to the foundational role of public relations in this transformation.

Prof. Dr. Hızal defined sustainable development communication as an area of “ethical intervention” in his presentation, stating that the discipline of public relations must go beyond its traditional functions of informing and managing reputation. In this context, he emphasized that public relations must transform into a communication model that encourages participation, supports social transformation, and organizes corporate activism.

Hızal stated that it must move beyond being a tool that speaks on behalf of the institution and become a subject that thinks alongside society, produces meaning, and acts with cultural sensitivity. He particularly pointed out the importance of local cultural narratives and digital platforms in this transformation process.