The 7th International Strategic and Social Research Symposium was held at MAKÜ

The VII. International Symposium on Strategic and Social Research (ISASOR VII – 2025), organized with the support of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ), was held on November 27–28, 2025, at MAKÜ. The symposium, with the main theme "History, Science, and Society in a Changing, Transforming World," provided an opportunity for the discussion of current academic studies conducted in various fields of social sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective. 

The opening speeches at the symposium were made by the Symposium Organizing Committee Chairs Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Karaman and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Dericioğulları Ergun. Following the opening speeches, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy also delivered a speech, emphasizing the university's support for scientific events and the role of social sciences in understanding societal issues.

As part of the opening program, a special session was organized on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25. In this special session chaired by Prof. Dr. Cem Ergun, Prof. Dr. Songül Sallan Gül, with her presentation titled "The Past and Present of Women's Shelters in Combating Violence Against Women in Turkey," addressed the policies for combating violence against women from historical and social dimensions. The session formed one of the important topics of the symposium with discussions conducted in the context of gender inequalities and social policy.

During the two-day symposium program, numerous academics from fields such as sociology, history, political science, communication, cultural studies, and educational sciences presented their papers. Current social issues such as gender, migration and refugees, identity, generations, poverty, labor, media and digital transformation, space, and social inequalities were addressed in theoretical and empirical dimensions; the symposium created a rich and multi-layered scientific discussion platform.

The full texts of the papers accepted and presented at ISASOR VII – 2025 are planned to be published in a symposium proceedings book with an ISBN after a double-blind peer review process. Papers were presented in Turkish and English, and a wide academic participation was achieved through face-to-face and online sessions. 

One of the notable aspects of the symposium was that no participation fee was charged from the participants, and instead, donations were made to the "We Plant 20,000 Trees for Our 20th Anniversary" campaign initiated as part of the 20th anniversary of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. With this practice, the symposium provided a tangible contribution to the university's sustainability vision and green campus goals, in addition to academic sharing. It was stated that all donations would be used for tree planting activities to be carried out in the campus areas in memory of the university's 20th anniversary. 

ISASOR VII – 2025, with its strong academic content, sensitivity to societal issues, and sustainability-focused approach, was completed as an important international academic event that strengthens scientific production and university–society interaction in the field of sociology and social sciences.