Turkish Cultural Heritage Project Wins International Europa Nostra Award

A significant international recognition has been bestowed upon a Turkish initiative that rose from the ashes of the devastating February 6, 2023 earthquakes. The project, "Assessing Earthquake Damage in Cultural Heritage Sites," has been honored with a prestigious Europa Nostra Award in the Citizen Engagement and Awareness category. This award celebrates the innovative and collaborative approach taken by Turkish academics, professionals, and volunteers to document the impact of the seismic events on the nation's invaluable cultural heritage.

The project's scope was immense, focusing on eleven provinces that bore the brunt of the earthquakes, including UNESCO World Heritage sites like Göbekli Tepe, Arslantepe, and Mount Nemrut. In the aftermath of the disaster, reliable information on heritage site damage was scarce. Responding to this critical need, the initiative, spearheaded by archaeologists and remote sensing experts, mobilized over fifty volunteers. They established a cooperative monitoring system, integrating ground-level observations with satellite data, to assess the condition of more than 1,500 archaeological and historical locations.

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The jury praised the strong contribution of academic volunteers, emphasizing how this initiative demonstrated how rapid action after a natural disaster can support the preservation of cultural heritage.

The Europa Nostra Jury specifically lauded the project for its "innovative combination of citizen science and remote sensing based on open data." This highlights how Turkish researchers and citizens, in the face of immense destruction, harnessed technology and collective action to safeguard their history. The award not only brings international prestige to the project and its participants but also underscores the resilience and dedication of Turkey in preserving its rich cultural legacy. The findings, which indicated that structures from the Ottoman period sustained the most damage while prehistoric mounds showed greater resilience, provide crucial data for future conservation efforts. The project's success is a powerful testament to the impact of citizen science and open data in crisis situations.

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The innovative combination of citizen science and remote sensing based on open data.