We organized the famous actress Lindsay Lohan’s four visits to the Syrian family in Sultanbeyli (a district of Istanbul) and her visit to Gaziantep Nizip Refugee Camp as Bosphorus Global. We would like to inform the public that neither our center nor Lindsay Lohan received any funding for visits. The process was carried out on a completely voluntary basis.

Through the visits coordinated by our center, Lohan was the name that once again sang the slogan “The World is Bigger Than 5”, announcing to the world the crisis experienced by refugees, how Türkiye protected them and the insensitivity and lack of care of 5 countries to the crisis.

While Lohan’s work on Syrians has been widely covered in international media, it was also reported in newspapers and television channels in many countries of the world such as the USA, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Egypt, Qatar, South Africa, Algeria, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. The Associated Press included visits to Sultanbeyli (a district of Istanbul) on September 26, 2016 and Gaziantep on October 8, 2016, in their ‘Big Story’ section. Important media organs of the world press, such as The Washington Post, Fox News, The Sun, Daily Mail, and Sky News, covered the activities.

Regarding Lindsay Lohan’s visits to Syrian refugees in Türkiye, news was shared in many languages: 186 Turkish, 97 English, 84 Spanish, 77 Arabic, 71 Russian, 25 Indonesian/Malaysian, 16 Greek, 14 French, 9 Italian, 3 German. Along with other languages, a total of more than 600 news on the visits took place on the internet and blog websites.

The most prominent point in the news in English was the responsibility that Türkiye took with its inclusive attitude towards refugees. In addition, Lindsay Lohan’s use of the phrase “The world is bigger than five” was emphasized in many news, and it was also mentioned that this expression was uttered in line with the reform of the United Nations.

In the Spanish news, it was emphasized that it is important to bring the refugee issue to the agenda of the world public opinion. Lohan’s words in this direction were included.

In Arabic news, Lindsay Lohan’s wearing a headscarf was the most highlighted occurrence. In addition, Lohan’s words about the need for the USA and the EU to give more support to Türkiye in the refugee issue were another point that attracted attention in the news.

The activities carried out in favor of Türkiye’s theses brought Türkiye’s inclusive stance on the refugee issue to the agenda of the international public. However, the emphasis that Türkiye is a safe country was frequently voiced by Lindsay Lohan, and a new move was developed in response to the “unsafe country” perception that is being tried to be created against Türkiye. To sum up, all the efforts to influence the international public made a significant contribution to Türkiye’s public diplomacy experience.