Academics from different countries such as Turkey, USA, Spain, Russia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Tunisia, Azerbaijan and Bangladesh participated and presented their papers at the symposium which was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The audience were academicians, researchers, students and business people also participated in the symposium online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The symposium opening speech was made by Istanbul Gelisim University Rector Prof. Dr. Burhan AYKAÇ. In his speech, AYKAÇ emphasized his hope that the symposium hosted by IGU will bring solutions to the problems in the region, referring to the current developments in the Middle East, especially the Palestine and Israel issues. After Aykaç, the main speaker of the symposium Dr. İbrahim AOUDE, professor at the University of Hawai-Manoa.  presented his paper titled “The Unfolding Regional Situation in West Asia and North Africa in the Context of Global Capitalist Crisis”. Mentioning the effects of post-Cold War global capitalism in West Asia and North Africa, AOUDE also addressed the current problems in the Middle East and stated that the Middle East Symposiums held by Istanbul Gelişim University made a great academic contribution to the understanding of the region. After AOUDE, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz ÇİLLİLER made the last opening speech. In his speech, ÇİLLİLER thanked all the participants and shared his happiness that the symposium hosted by IGU has become a good academic reference for academics, researchers and students working on the Middle East and interested in the region.

The first session of the symposium started with the theme of “Regional Challenges” under the presidency of Assoc. Prof. Dr Emine AKÇADAĞ ALAGÖZ. After Dr. Yousef BAKER's “Race and imperial anxiety; re-conceptualizing America's war on Iraq ”  paper, Dr. Dhiffaf AL-SHWILLAY presented her paper titled “Socio-Political Changes in the Middle East and their impact on Iraqi Literature of Resistance”, and Segey TRETYAK from Vernadsky Crimean Federal University presented his paper  with the title “Russian View on Turkey's Involvement in the Syrian Conflict” and lastly from  Istanbul Gelişim University,Prof. Dr. William MOISER presented his paper titled “The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Education in Refugee Children”. In this session regional difficulties were discussed and the second session started after the question and answer part.

Headed by Assoc. Dr. Annamaria Csiszer, in the second session on "Religion and Politics" Dr. Lecturer Hiba Ghanem presented her paper titled “Spatial Profanation of Lebanese Sectarianism: al-nur Square and the 17 October 23019 Protests” and then Dr. Murat TINAS presented his paper with the title “Shia Crescent in Lebanon: Fluctuating Relations Between Iran and Hezbollah” and then  "Factors of Radicalization on the Example of Uzbekistan and Aceh Province (Indonesia)" paper presented by academics Roman FANISHMIDT and Sergey MARGULIS from the Russian Presidental Academy of National Economy and Public Administration a Ananda Kumar BISWAS from the University of Liberal Arts presented his paper titled Critical Analysis of Religion in Politics: A Case Study of Bangladeshi Politic. After the question and answer session where religion and politics in the Middle East were discussed the third session started right after the question and answer session.

The third session, titled Culture, Society and Politics was headed by Dr. Idlir LIKA. The session started with Nissaf Karbout's paper titled "Effect of Climate Change on the Social and Economic Situation in the African Region: The Case of Tunisia". Then, Dr. Rabia Rabet TEMSAMANI presented her paper with the title “A Reflection on the Maritime Delimination's issues in the Levant: The Case of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Israel”. Then Ferial Menaifi from Constantine University-Algeria presented her paper titled with "The Role of Military in State Building Process: A Comparative Analysis of the Arab Uprisings Period in Tunisia and Libya". Then Dr. Arash BEIDOLLAHKHANI from Ferdowsi University of Mashdad presented his paper “Transformation of Political Islam Discourse in the Post-Corona Pandemic: Foundations and Structure”. Dr. Arash BEIDOLLAHKHANI and Edriss RASA presented their paper titled “Consequences of the Withdrawal and Its Impact on Construction pf Afghan Political System”. After this session where culture, society and politics in the Middle East were discussed, the fourth session started right after the question and answer session.

The fourth session titled Turkey and the Middle East started with the opening speech of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fatih Fuat TUNCER. First, Dr. Gökberk YÜCEL presented his paper titled "A Memory Stop in Turkey's Libya Policies: Defense of Tripoli". Assoc. Dr. Faiq ELEKBERLİ, presented his paper titled "The West-Russia Cooperation Against Turkey: The New Power of the Middle East". Then Dr. Yusuf Ziya BölükBAŞI presented his paper titled "Continuity and Change in Turkey - Israel Relations in the Light of Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. After the session where the theme of Turkey and the Middle East was discussed, the fifth session started right after the question and answer session.

The fifth session titled Regional Power Struggles and Non-Regional Actors was headed by Hayriye Asena DEMİRER. After the opening of the session, Dr. Selin Bölme presented her paper titled "China's Mask / Vaccine Diplomacy in the Middle East". In the continuation of the session, Dr. Keisuke WAKIZAKA from Istanbul Gelişim University presented his paper “Transformation of the Arab League in International Politics: From Opposition to Israel to Anti-Iran”. Then Suat AYHAN from Bursa Uludağ University presented his paper "After the Arab Spring: Was the Arab Spring the End of the Post-Colonial Period?". Samir GUMBATOV from Atlas Research Center presented his paper titled "Regional Struggle in the South Caucasus and the Middle East". After the session where Regional Power Struggles and Non-Regional Actors were discussed, the last session started right after the question and answer session.

Sixth session titled Religion, Society and Political Culture, was chaired by Dr. Emre GÜNDOĞDU. In the session, Dr. Nurullah ÇAKMAKTAŞ presented his paper with “The Changing Enemy Conception of Religious Radicalism in Muslim Societies” title. Dr. Esat AYYILDIZ presented his paper with “Reflections of Migration in Classical and Modern Arabic Literature” title. Then, Dr. Fırat DEMİRKOL from Istanbul Gelisim University presented his paper titled with "The Concept of the Individual in Turkish - Islamic Thought". Then Celal RUŞEN, Caucasus Strategic Research Center (Kafkassam), presented his paper titled with "Political Cultural Transformation of the South Azerbaijan Turkism Operation After the Iran - Iraq War”. Lastly, Assoc. Dr. Elnur Kelbizadeh presented his paper titled "Iran's Caucasus Policy During the Karabakh War". After the question and answer session, the sessions of the symposium ended. The symposium ended with the closing speech of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yavuz ÇİLLİLER as he presented his gratitude to all participants.