Resilient Community Centers aim to bring together local communities around a common goal and increase their resilience through the specialized environment, core curriculum and collaborations they offer. It is intended to operate in three ways: during normal times, during disasters, and during post-disaster recovery. One of their primary goals is to establish solidarity in advance that will enable society to work together in the event of a major crisis. The centers, which will be established at different scales, will act in coordination with each other throughout Türkiye. In order for the centers to be multiplexable, it is essential that their designs are simple, their construction and maintenance costs are low, their materials are local, and their governance cost and model are realistic. It is critical to ensure the coordination of centers with each other for a resilient society. The program content consists of five main layers that feed each other:
Common Curriculum: Basic First Aid, disaster preparedness and disaster response, emergency plan creation seminar, amateur radio license training, climate change adaptation, permaculture and water consumption
Education: Teacher trainings and teacher network activities, creative drama for young people and children, STEAM trainings, school support programs, parenting trainings for adults, social impact measurement and project & fund application writing trainings for NGOs
Culture & Art: Local theatre, music, choir team training and performances, musical instrument training for children and adults, culture, art, sports and education programs for children, artist interviews, online / offline exhibition screenings, book talks
Health: First aid response room and basic supplies, nutrition and well-being training / counseling sessions, family health center (Ministry of Health), health screenings (in cooperation with VKV Health Organizations and Turkish Nurses Association)
Local Development: Research and project supports to identify local risks, action plans for neighborhood-based interventions, courses and workshops for employment
Neighborhood Community Center
Users of small-scale community centers are groups with common goals and approaches. Over time, their sphere of influence expands, thanks to both new participants and the networks they are affiliated with. The sense of cooperation and solidarity among community members is reinforced through daily activities. They inspire a sense of trust in those around them. They are agile structures that can undertake all kinds of responsibilities, from the programs to the maintenance of the venue where they carry out their activities. For this reason, it is always necessary to prefer a small structure in which they can dominate. Communities are willing to minimize the support they receive from public administrations and always be active and producers of services.
When we talk about disaster-resistant community centers, it is also possible to form communities with the participation of neighborhood or district residents, teachers, and public representatives who have expertise in disasters.
