Istanbul Child- Centered Disaster Risk Reduction Workshops
30 November 2024 - 3 December 2024
İBB Kasımpaşa Ek Hizmet Binası
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 Türkiye to develop data-based child- centered disaster risk reduction actions. To this aim, an all-day Istanbul Child- Centered Disaster Risk Reduction Children’s Workshop was held on November 30th in Istanbul, one of the pilot provinces of the project, with the participation of children and youth from different neighborhoods of Istanbul and from different age groups. Through the opening session conducted by Görkem Güner, UNICEF Turkey Social Policies Officer, children were briefly introduced to the disaster risks of Istanbul and the duties and responsibilities of municipalities in this regard. The opening session was followed by workshops led by the UNICEF Türkiye team. Through the workshops in this section, children reflected on the possible disasters that may occur in Istanbul and exchanged ideas on the measures that can be taken against these disasters. At the end of the day, children divided into groups made presentations on child- centered risk reduction, which they supported with their drawings. The suggestions developed by the children during the event will be compiled to be included in the action plans to be prepared by TESEV.
An all-day municipal experts’ workshop was organized on 3 December 2024 with relevant experts and staff of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Following the opening speeches of Özge Aktaş Mazman, TESEV Executive Director, and Görkem Güner, UNICEF Türkiye Social Policy Officer, IMM’s Children’s Affairs Branch Directorate presented the children’s services and activities of the municipality. Following Görkem Güner’s speech on Child Friendly City and Child Centered Disaster Risk Reduction, TESEV Project Coordinator Gizem Fidan Kaya made a presentation on Child Centered Disaster Policies, including a review of IBB’s work on this field. Finally, Prof. Dr. Murat Güvenç introduced the Child- Centered Disaster Risk Maps he prepared by using age and market price data of the neighborhoods of Istanbul to the municipality experts. Following the presentations, in the afternoon sessions, the participants were divided into groups and developed action proposals on topics such as urban transformation, disaster awareness of children, child-oriented governance and services. The event ended with the presentation of action proposals of each group and a question-answer session.