The Conference on Earthquake Protection of Cultural Heritage, organized jointly by the Chamber of Civil Engineers with the World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE) and the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) and hosted by IMO Antalya Branch, was held in Antalya on 31 October – 1 November 2011.
Serdar Harp, who started his speech by drawing attention to the great destruction caused by the earthquake that occurred in Van on October 23 and the fact that the political power did not manage the search and rescue efforts and aid distribution after the earthquake well and turned it into a crisis, said that the government did not take the necessary steps and did not take the necessary precautions, considering that we live in an earthquake country. He stated that he turned a deaf ear to the warnings and suggestions of the Chamber of Civil Engineers. Stating that hundreds of our people paid the price for this attitude of the government with their lives, Serdar Harp also noted that solidarity caravans were sent to the region from all over Turkey, but this aid was not delivered to the people damaged by the earthquake due to lack of organization. Stating that IMO and TMMOB also sent aid caravans to the region, Serdar Harp emphasized that, as the Chamber, they will stand by the people no matter what.
Providing information about Turkey’s earthquake reality with figures, Serdar Harp said that those who came to power so far did not take the necessary precautions against the earthquake reality, pushed science aside and acted for short-term gains. Serdar Harp stated that the disasters experienced are not destiny and said, “Instead of an approach limited to healing the wounds, our country now needs an approach that prevents, minimizes the damage, aims to protect human life, makes the healthy life of the human being the primary goal, and focuses on humans. Natural events are natural events.” “It is not our destiny to turn into disasters. Because of both our profession and our socialist perspective, we will continue to be the seeing eye and the hearing ear in a geography where the eyes are blind and the ears are deaf. In the light of science and technology, we will protect life and our people based on humanity,” he said.
Serdar Harp stated that Anatolian lands have hosted dozens of civilizations, but the historical and cultural heritage of these civilizations are not adequately protected.
“The lands we live in have hosted dozens of civilizations, and each civilization has left its mark on these lands. The ruins of past civilizations, which we encounter with historical buildings, shed light on the present in terms of understanding our past and the changes in history. Protecting the past and overcoming it is only possible by understanding it correctly.
Reminding that civil engineering has a key role in the preservation of historical buildings and their safe transfer to the future, Serdar Harp pointed out that IMO fulfilled a historical responsibility through this Conference.
43 oral, 12 poster and 2 corporate presentations were made at the conference.
Approximately 300 scientists, experts and construction experts from abroad and Turkey attended the international conference, which aims to share the research results and successful practices carried out in our country and around the world with civil engineers and those interested in the subject in order to protect historical and cultural structures that have managed to survive despite natural events for centuries and to maintain their existence in the future. engineer attended.
During the conference, which lasted two days and was attended by 9 invited speakers, 43 oral presentations, 12 poster presentations and 2 corporate presentations were made.
On the second day of the Conference, where all aspects of the work to be done to protect the historical and cultural heritage from earthquakes were discussed, a press conference was held at IMO Antalya Branch, attended by WCCE President Emilio Colon, ECCE President Gorazd Humar and Serdar Harp. At the press conference held with the intense participation of members of the press, evaluations were made about the earthquake that occurred in Van on October 23, 2011.
At the end of the conference, Tuğrul Tankut, Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee, made a presentation evaluating the conference in terms of content, scope and organization.
The conference ended with the thanks to the participants by WCCE President Emilio Colon, ECCE President Gorazd Humar and IMO Chairman of the Board of Directors Serdar Harp.
Click here to access the Book of Abstracts of the Conference.
Click here to access the book of presentations and speeches made by the invited speakers of the conference.