Director of Communications Altun said: "As a Turkish citizen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed, especially our President, for every revolutionary step taken in recent days towards the growth and strengthening of Türkiye."
Presidency's Director of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, attended the "Stratcom Disaster Communication Forum" organized at the Directorate of Communications, which is themed "Resilience, Response, and Recovery".
Speaking at the Forum's opening, Director of Communications Altun stated that they would focus on disaster communication with valuable stakeholders of the strategic communication ecosystem from Türkiye and around the world, including the public sector, media, academia, civil society, and private sector.
Director of Communications Altun expressed his belief that, in addition to the panels, they will have realized the country’s most comprehensive activity in this field with a 5-day event that includes “Disaster Communication Training” and “Hackathon: National Disaster Communication Exercise."
Director of Communications Altun stated that on February 6, the country experienced two unprecedented and extremely destructive earthquakes, which were described as the "disaster of the century," and that more than 50 thousand people lost their lives as a result of earthquakes that affected 14 million citizens in 62 districts of 11 provinces, wishing Allah's mercy upon those who lost their lives in the earthquake and conveying his condolences to the entire nation.
"From the very beginning, our state has stood by citizens in the earthquake zone"
Director of Communications Altun indicated that from the very beginning, the state has stood by the citizens in the earthquake zone with all its means and with great coordination, and noted that while the magnitude of the disaster they faced and the harsh winter conditions hampered early response and relief efforts, all the needs, from search and rescue to shelter, were met with great effort.
Indicating that more than 100,000 citizens were rescued from the rubble thanks to the tireless efforts of 35,250 search and rescue personnel who were quickly dispatched to the region and that over 275,000 personnel worked on the ground around the clock, Director of Communications Altun continued:
"Our President promised that a total of 650 thousand residences and village houses would be constructed, with 319 thousand completed within one year. For the time being, the construction of more than 105 thousand earthquake-resistant residences and village houses has begun. The groundwork for approximately 50,000 of them has been laid. Our Honourable President personally attended the ground-breaking ceremonies for earthquake-resistant houses to be built in Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman Gaziantep, Kilis, Elazığ, Malatya, Şanlıurfa, and Diyarbakır. On the second day of Eid, we delivered the first village houses, which were completed in 44 days, not even a year.
"We introduced the Turkish National Risk Shield Model"
Director of Communications Altun stated that they adopted February 6 as a milestone in disaster preparedness and response and introduced the Turkish National Risk Shield Model, and that they would continue to work with all their strength in the upcoming period to build on the strong capacity they have developed in disaster preparedness and response over the last 20 years.
Director of Communications Altun pointed out that one of the most important pillars of the "Türkiye Communication Model" that they have built under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is disaster and crisis communication, and he went on to say:
"With the Türkiye Disaster Communication Model that we have implemented in this context, we have tried and are trying to strengthen truth and people-oriented process management in the preparation, response, and recovery processes against disasters. The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications maintained constant communication and coordination with all institutions and organizations during the earthquakes that struck Kahramanmaraş. We have ensured that the public has fast and transparent access to up-to-date information and announcements on all kinds of developments. We have provided the necessary guidance to respond to the search-and-rescue calls and to meet the needs shared on social media. We have facilitated and supported the professional activities of national and international media members in the earthquake zone. I hope we were successful.
CİMER, which operates under our Directorate, as well as other communication platforms, have received a flood of requests and applications related to the disaster of the century. We added an "Earthquake Emergency" button to the CİMER system on the first day. More than 1 million 700 thousand requests received through CİMER were examined meticulously around the clock and resolved effectively and quickly. The solidarity messages sent by our citizens to CİMER were also recorded as an indication of the unity and solidarity we displayed in this process. On the other hand, we also faced systematic campaigns of lies and disinformation that could have undermined earthquake response efforts.
12 publications have been produced to inform about disaster risks
Director of Communications Altun stated that they have made efforts to increase national and international solidarity and sensitivity through campaigns such as "Solidarity of the Century," "Let my Home be Your Home," "Türkiye United as One Heart," and "We Stand with Türkiye."
Highlighting the importance of informing and preparing the public against risks within the scope of the Türkiye Disaster Risk Reduction Plan, Director of Communications Altun noted that the Directorate of Communications has recently released 12 new publications on disaster, risk, emergency, hybrid threats, humanitarian diplomacy, combating disinformation, disaster reporting, and preparation, response and recovery in the face of new age risks.
"We have organized these events by drawing inspiration from new generation strategies"
Director of Communications Altun emphasized that they organized the "Disaster Communication Training" and the "Hackathon National Disaster Communication Exercise" as part of the Forum and that these events, which were organized by drawing inspiration from new generation approaches, demonstrate the significance they place on disaster preparedness. He continued:
“At the Stratcom Disaster Communication Forum, we will have the chance to hear the experiences and observations of national and international teams that participated in search and rescue efforts during the disaster of the century. We believe that the Forum's panels, speeches, publications, training, and exercises will benefit all stakeholders in the crisis and disaster communication ecosystem as well as theoretical and applied research in this field.
“As Türkiye gains strength, its disaster preparedness and response capacity will increase further”
Director of Communications Altun stated that the Presidency's Directorate of Communications will continue to develop national and international collaborations in all communication fields and contribute to the development of high-quality projects and works, and continued:
"Türkiye's disaster preparedness and response capacity will continue to increase as the country grows and gains further strength. As a Turkish citizen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed, especially our President, for every revolutionary step taken in recent days towards the growth and strengthening of Türkiye.”
"The TCG Anadolu is currently en route to İzmir"
Director of Communications Altun wished the Togg and TCG Anadolu projects to be auspicious and said, "We all see the fervent interest of our citizens. The TCG Anadolu is currently en route to İzmir. I also shared it with our President. Tens of thousands of our citizens have applied to CİMER, asking us to extend the visit period of TCG Anadolu and to open TCG Anadolu to visitors in various regions of our country."
Indicating that the arrival of natural gas was one of the most significant events of the past week, Director of Communications Altun stated, "Our President has already demonstrated that our discoveries and investments will better serve our citizens in the Century of Türkiye."
Director of Communications Altun wished success to the new generation Altay tank and Hürjet, which flew for the first time this morning, as well as the Istanbul Financial Centre and "Half the Cost on Us for Urban Transformation" projects, and stated:
"All of these steps are taken to ensure the peace, prosperity, and safety of our people. Let the people live so that the state can live. If they asked me, "What is the primary tenet of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's state administration?" I would say, 'Let the person live so that the state can live,’ This statement is fundamental to our President's administration of the state. Another element is our President's pursuit of justice. The pursuit of justice is an another central tenet of our President's administration philosophy."