Melikgazi Municipality, in collaboration with Kayseri IHH, has submitted the 'Disaster-Resilient Kayseri Project in Collaboration with NGOs and Municipality' to the Civil Participation Grant Program.

Melikgazi Mayor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Palancıoğlu, stating that with this project, they aim to enhance the collaborative capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and municipalities to make their cities more resilient to disasters, mentioned, 'Through this initiative, we will facilitate joint efforts between Kayseri IHH Humanitarian Relief Association and Melikgazi Municipality in the field of disaster management, setting a model for inter-institutional dialogue and cooperation that can be replicated by other municipalities and NGOs. The project also includes the establishment of an Urban Search and Rescue Training Centre within the Kayseri IHH organization.

"Mayor Palancıoğlu stated that Melikgazi Municipality will provide professional urban search and rescue training to disaster volunteers. He mentioned, 'Volunteers from 4 neighbouring city municipalities will receive professional urban search and rescue training. A total of 50 volunteers from 5 NGOs will participate in disaster-emergency training and be trained as professional search and rescue volunteers. Additionally, disaster education seminars will be organized for the other members (a total of 300 members) of these 5 NGOs. In 30 schools in Kayseri, interactive training methods will be used to convey what individuals should do before and after disasters to the students. Furthermore, educational and informative seminars will be conducted for 300 young people in 3 state universities in Kayseri to create disaster awareness.' Fifty young individuals will receive wilderness survival skills training. A workshop titled 'Resilient City Kayseri: Recommendations from the Perspective of NGOs' will be organized with the participation of NGOs in Kayseri. Training activities in the project will be conducted by the Kayseri IHH Humanitarian Relief Association, with Melikgazi Municipality as a collaborative partner. The entire project budget of $87,350.00 will be financed by the grant authority. If the project is accepted, the activities are planned to commence in March 2024 and continue for 12 months. I extend my gratitude to my colleagues who contributed to this meaningful project.