Child- Centered Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plans for Municipalities

The Child- Centered Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plans for Municipalities Project, implemented by TESEV with the support of UNICEF and in cooperation with the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, aims to support municipalities in Turkey to develop data-based child-oriented disaster risk reduction actions. The pilot provinces of the project are Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Gaziantep and Adana.

In the first stage of the project, the review of national and international disaster risk reduction framework documents, municipal policy documents and open data platforms is followed by the preparation of child- centered disaster risk maps. Aiming to identify local vulnerabilities and needs, the maps are prepared using neighborhood-based age and market value data. The preparation of child-focused disaster risk reduction action plans continues with stakeholder meetings in the project provinces where the outputs of these two stages are evaluated with the participation of municipality experts, CSO representatives, scholars and central government representatives. In the stakeholder meetings, which also include a workshop section, participants develop recommendations for the action plan.

The project also adopts the principle of child participation. Through the children’s workshops organized for this purpose, the needs of children regarding disasters are identified by children and children are encouraged to produce solutions in the face of disasters that may occur in the provinces where they live. Children’s ideas also find a place in action plans.
Within the scope of the project, disaster action plans were prepared for pilot municipalities in 2024. In 2025, it is planned to develop data-based child- centered disaster risk reduction training modules for municipalities.