Business Continuity Vision from Marmara to Türkiye: RESMAR Project Closing Meeting Takes Place in Istanbul 26 June 2026
The RESMAR Project, which has been carried out for two years to make industrial infrastructures more resilient to disasters and to ensure the uninterrupted continuity of business in production, is preparing for its major closing meeting. Co-financed by the European Union and AFAD, the closing meeting of the project will be held on July 1–2, 2026, in Istanbul with broad participation.
The two-day event will bring together representatives from Organized Industrial Zones (OIZs), public institutions, international organizations, academia, and decision-makers on a common ground of collective wisdom. Field experiences, institutional achievements, and good practice models developed throughout the two-year project lifecycle will be comprehensively shared.
The Future of Resilience in Industry and OIZ Experiences
The RESMAR Project primarily aims to increase the disaster resilience of industrial zones in the Marmara Region and across Türkiye. The first day of the meeting will host critical sessions. Following the opening presentation titled "RESMAR from Past to Present" by Mehmet Fatih ŞEN, Head of the Technological Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group at AFAD, regional managers and representatives from the eight Organized Industrial Zones involved in the implementation phase of the project (KOSB, Birlik, Istanbul Anadolu Yakası, GEBKİM, Global Karma, Gebze Güzeller, Bursa Demirtaş, Tekirdağ Çerkezköy) will share their field experiences regarding business continuity and resilience.
The official opening speeches of the meeting will be delivered by Abdulkadir TEZCAN, Head of the Marmara Disaster Risk Reduction Department at AFAD, Prof. Dr. Orhan TATAR, General Director of Earthquake and Risk Reduction at AFAD, Maria Luisa WYGANOWSKI, Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, and Governor Ali Hamza PEHLİVAN, President of AFAD.
Global Partnerships, Insurance Systems, and Public Perspective
The second day of the meeting will begin with a special presentation by Hüseyin DOĞRU, Chairman of the Board of MOBSAN, focusing on strategic deductions and lessons learned regarding the business continuity capacity of institutions and enterprises after the February 6 earthquakes. Subsequently, a panel discussion titled "Global Partnerships for Resilience" will be organized with the participation of representatives from the Directorate for EU Affairs, United Nations agencies (UNDRR, UNDP, WFP), and the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye.
The critical role of insurance frameworks and risk transfer mechanisms—which represent one of the most vital pillars of financial sustainability in disaster risk management—will be discussed in detail by Balkır DEMİRKAN, Secretary-General of DASK. Before the closing ceremony, heads of departments from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry and Technology, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Ministry of Trade, and Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change will present their policies and targets for a resilient Türkiye during the "Public Perspective" session. The event will conclude with a closing and ceremonial speech by Hamza TAŞDELEN, Vice President of AFAD.