A High Level Cooperation Meeting for Earthquake Research was held with the participation of TÜBİTAK - AFAD - MTA and KIGAM. TUBITAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) General Director of Earthquake and Risk Mitigation Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar, MTA (General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration) Geological Surveys Department Head Assoc. Dr. Selim ÖZALP, TÜBİTAK MAM President Prof. Dr. Burcu Özsoy, KIGAM (South Korea Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources) officials and TUBITAK officials attended the meeting held in the Board of Directors Hall at TUBITAK Presidency.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TÜBİTAK, said: "We talk about the processes of climate change and how it affects everyone. As the challenges we face are more complex, dynamic and variable, the traditional approach may not be sufficient in solving such challenges. A single government, a single organization alone cannot be sufficient against these challenges." He emphasized the importance of institutions working together.
Reminding that TÜBİTAK supports projects in public institutions, industrial organizations and universities, Mandal noted that institutions and universities carry out separate studies.
"On February 6, 2023, we saw that we could not manage such disasters alone and all organizations came together. We went through a difficult period where all institutions and organizations worked together. This situation promises me a lot for the future to expand this kind of cooperation to the international level." He cited the example of the Research Platform for the Determination of Paleoseismological Characteristics of Turkey's Resistant Faults. Emphasizing that the project is one of the largest paleoseismology projects in the world, Mandal underlined that more than 100 researchers are together. Noting that the project in question can now be opened to the international arena, Mandal signaled that cooperation with KİGAM could also be made.
Noting that Eureka is an international cooperation platform established to promote the research and development of advanced technologies, products and services that will increase the competitiveness of industry and research organizations in European countries in world markets, and to encourage the creation and execution of joint projects between countries, Mandal said: "Eureka is mainly a European initiative, but it also extends its presence to the international level. Now Brazil is also trying to be a part of the system." Mandal said that the Eureka Call for Disaster Resilience is open to working with multilateral cooperation.
Drawing attention to the efforts for disaster management, Mandal reminded that they signed an agreement with KIAT (Technology Development Institute of the Republic of South Korea) last month to further strengthen scientific and technological cooperation, and said, "I hope we will sign new collaborations today."
Prof. Dr. Orhan Tatar, General Director of Earthquake and Risk Mitigation of AFAD, emphasized the importance of South Korea and mentioned the importance given to the relations between the two countries. Tatar reminded the support of South Korea especially after the February 6 earthquakes and thanked them for their support.
Prof. Dr. Tatar pointed out that they are conducting the world's most diverse and largest paleoseismological project and said, "We attach importance to the fact that more than 100 researchers and 300 scholarship holders are taking part in the Research Platform for Determining the Paleoseismological Characteristics of Turkey's Resisting Faults. Maybe we will work together with KİGAM in this project. Because we are working together with all relevant universities and institutions under the roof of a single platform."
Tatar stated that there is a need to increase work on moving faults in the international arena.
During the meeting, experience was shared on earthquake research and steps were taken towards multiple collaborations. Project proposals for the Eureka Call for Disaster Resilience were also discussed. The parties agreed to meet again to lay the foundations for cooperation.
