Data-Driven Disaster Governance: Training & Workshop
22 May 2025
Mersin Giz
The “Data-Driven Disaster Governance: Training & Workshop” event, organized by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ MATRA Fund and the International Budget Partnership, in cooperation with Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, took place on May 22, 2025, in Mersin.
The event aimed to support the development of a data-driven disaster governance model in municipalities, emphasize the importance of disaster budgeting, raise awareness among civil society organizations on this issue and support collaborations. Experts and personnel from Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, as well as representatives from other municipalities, civil society organizations operating in Mersin, central government, and universities participated in the event. The program began with opening speeches by Özge Aktaş Mazman, Executive Director of TESEV, and Kemal Zorlu, Head of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Disaster Affairs Department. Gizem Fidan Kaya, TESEV Project Manager presented project research outputs as “Localization in Disaster Governance,” which helped frame the program and informed participants on the importance of localization policies. Following the TESEV presentation, Dilek Boz from Mersin AFAD Planning and Damage Reduction Branch Directorate presented on “Framework Documents and Collaborations in Pre-Disaster Planning: The Mersin AFAD Example,” explaining disaster planning efforts in Mersin. From Mersin University, Ulaş Bayraktar highlighted the role and impact of communities and other collaborations in disaster governance, in addition to local and central governments, in his presentation on “Communities and Collaborations in Disaster Governance.”
The research titled “Budgets Allocated by Metropolitan Municipalities for Disasters and Risk Reduction Before and After the February 6th Earthquake,” which drew attention to how the disaster budgeting changes following the February 6th earthquakes, was introduced to the participants by Nurhan Yentürk, representative from the Public Expenditure Monitoring Platform (KAHİP). The presentation also informed participants about the method and importance of monitoring disaster budgets.
In the afternoon sessions, the focus shifted to digitalization and data in disaster governance. Following Ayşegül Akça’s presentation on “Digitalization in Disaster Governance,” from Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Disaster, Risk Preparedness Management, and Logistics Branch Directorate, TESEV Project Manager Gizem Fidan Kaya presented “Data and Digital Platforms in Disaster Governance: The Istanbul Example,” which showcased TESEV’s work as an example of using digital tools in disaster governance.
Following the presentations, participants were divided into groups and engaged in a workshop on developing indicators for data-driven disaster governance. The program concluded with group presentations and conclusion remarks. Evaluation made in the workshop will shape the report to be prepared within the scope of the project and will help develop recommendations for improving disaster management in municipalities.