International Experts to Meet at the Health Communication Conference

World-renowned experts to meet at Sabri Ülker Vakfı Nutrition and Health Communication Conference on 18 November to address COVID-19 pandemic.

Sabri Ülker Vakfı, which aims to base scientific information in health and nutrition fields, will host an international conference in the fourth year of its Nutrition and Health Communication Programme. On the first day of the Digital Nutrition and Health Communication Conference, nutrition during the pandemic will be addressed, and on the second day, world-renowned respected scientists will share current status and solution proposals on media literacy in combating misinformation. Sabri Ülker Vakfı, which implements projects to ensure scientific information is the basis for food, nutrition and health topics in society, is hosting Turkey's first international meeting on nutrition, healthy living and media literacy during the pandemic period. During the digital conference to be held between 17-18 November, experts in the field will share the most current information on nutrition during the COVID-19 period.

Media literacy during the pandemic will be discussed from all angles

On the second day of the conference, 18 November, international figures will share solutions on media literacy, which plays an important role in reaching correct information based on dozens of reports in the media on nutrition and healthy living during the pandemic. The conference will feature Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Professor of Health Communication K. Vish Viswanath, Aarhus University MAPP Research Centre Director Professor Klaus Grunert, British Nutrition Foundation Education Division Executive Director Roy Ballam, Üsküdar University Faculty of Human and Social Sciences Dean and Oxford University CRIC Centre Senior Member Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, Communication and Business Sciences Institute Founder Ali Atıf Bir, FAO Turkey Representative Deputy Dr. Ayşegül Selışık and FAO-supported Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist Dilara Koçak as speakers.

World-renowned experts in their field will speak

Among the speakers who will share their views with participants on media literacy, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Professor of Health Communication K. Vish Viswanath is a figure who particularly works on communication, poverty and health inequalities. Due to his research on health communication, Viswanath was awarded the "Distinguished Health Communication Research Award" by the International Communication Association in 2010, and is also one of the authors of "Mass Media, Social Control, and Social Change," which examines the role of mass media in controlling society. Aarhus University MAPP Research Centre Director Professor Klaus Grunert, who has research in consumer behaviour, food choice and healthy nutrition, emphasizes in his book titled "Consumer Trends and New Product Opportunities in the Food Sector" that consumers prefer not only tasty and healthy food products but also sustainable and authentic products. British Nutrition Foundation Education Division Executive Director Roy Ballam also directs the foundation's food-related education programmes. In his article titled "Where next for food education?", Ballam draws attention to deficiencies in proper nutrition education in schools, arguing that curricula should include more lessons on nutrition and food for children's health. Üsküdar University Faculty of Human and Social Sciences Dean and Oxford University CRIC Centre Senior Member Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan is a figure who concentrates his work in the field of political psychology. Prof. Arıboğan notes that misinformation not only misleads the public on public health but also leads to incorrect public guidance in economics and politics on many issues affecting society. Emphasizing that misused, manipulated content can sometimes lead to transformations in society that are difficult to reverse, Prof. Arıboğan explains how seemingly innocent "misinformation" can snowball in the age of social media. In the discussion featuring FAO Turkey Representative Deputy Dr. Ayşegül Selışık and FAO-supported Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist Dilara Koçak on the programme, current agricultural and nutrition realities and recent developments will be discussed.

How nutrition should be during COVID-19, experts answer

In the conference where media literacy will be discussed in depth, how nutrition should be during the pandemic will also be addressed in the first day's sessions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, key topics such as immune system, chronic diseases, emotional hunger, popular diets, food literacy and commonly believed misconceptions will be evaluated by expert figures in light of recent developments. Hacettepe University Vaccine Institute Director Prof. Dr. Serhat Ünal, Hohenheim University Department of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition and Food Safety Centre Director Prof. Dr. Hans Konrad Biesalski, Sabri Ülker Vakfı Scientific Board Member Prof. Dr. Julian D. Stowell, İstinye University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. H. Tanju Besler, Turkey Diabetes Foundation President Prof. Dr. Temel Yılmaz, İstinye University Rector Prof. Dr. Erdal Karaöz, Eastern Mediterranean University Faculty of Health Sciences Prof. İrfan Erol, Specialist Dietitian Selahattin Dönmez and Dietitian Berrin Yiğit will explain with examples how nutrition should be during the pandemic. Registration for the event can be made free of charge through the https://nutritionconference.sabriulkerfoundation.org/ website.