Tech firms join push to resolve post-quake employment, shelter issues

Tech firms join push to resolve post-quake employment, shelter issues

Türkiye is counting on expertise corporations because it tries to deal with massive challenges from the current earthquakes that flattened a swathe of cities and cities in its southeastern area, leaving a whole lot of hundreds of individuals homeless.

The startup ecosystem is engaged in efforts to deal with the issues that require fast options, spearheaded by shelter, employment and schooling.

The huge Feb. 6 quakes, centered in southern Kahramanmaraş province, have left a minimum of 41,156 individuals killed in Türkiye. Authorities mentioned greater than 110,000 buildings throughout 11 quake-hit provinces had been both destroyed or so severely broken that they must be torn down.

Various organizations and corporations have come ahead to offer assist and options to the affected communities.

The actual property web sites emlakJet, sahibinden.com and hepsiemlak have undertaken a job to function a bridge and obtain housing-related purposes to assist address points concerning lodging. On the opposite hand, the net recruitment platform kariyer.internet is addressing employment and efforts to information job seekers and volunteers.

Startups within the expertise trade have been exploring distant work alternatives and data-driven options to deal with employment wants which have arisen within the aftermath of the earthquakes.

Meanwhile, small companies within the affected areas have turned to digital marketplaces to promote their merchandise, and shoppers are being inspired to buy with native farmers and tradespeople to assist and assist revive the area’s economic system.

The authorities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), companies and civil society teams have additionally been lively in efforts to assist the affected communities, together with discovering various manufacturing amenities and offering coaching alternatives for staff.

The Ministry of Industry and Technology, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Support Administration (KOSGEB) and Technoparks are selling the advantages of distant work, whereas chambers of commerce in closely impacted cities are working collectively to revive commerce. Furthermore, idle factories and workshops are being made out there to offer options for manufacturing.

Software and gaming sector

The potential to work remotely, mixed with schooling, supplies a chance for software program and gaming startups to rework their current workforce.

The work of the Open Software Network has additionally come underneath the highlight, aimed toward bringing collectively open-source programmers to develop software program options to assist earthquake reduction efforts.

The platform goals to offer important contributions when it comes to human sources.

Elaborating on the Open Software Network on his private weblog, technical generalist Eser Özvataf summarizes the contributions of 23,950 builders to the platform.

“We first began with afetharita.com. As new concepts got here in, we evaluated the tasks that got here in like an open-source software program basis (Apache Foundation, CloudNative Computing Foundation, Free Software Foundation, Linux Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, and so forth.), and tried to kind volunteer groups to beat obstacles of their progress,” Özvataf famous.

“We are working on a project list, and our internal processes will be much more organized in the near future. However, for now, you can view the “ready-to-publish” projects at https://afet.org/,” he added.

Support for shelter downside

Shelter has been one of the crucial important points because the earthquakes left a whole lot of hundreds of individuals homeless in the course of winter.

To handle this, the “Evim Yuvan Olsun” (Let my house be your house) marketing campaign has been launched to assist earthquake victims by matching them with empty or unused houses which have been made out there by the general public.

People can provide their houses to earthquake victims freed from cost or at decreased rental charges. Applications might be made by way of the marketing campaign’s web site, which has been set as much as present a dependable and safe utility course of.

People keen to open their empty homes to quake survivors can ship purposes that might be examined on-site by respective district governor’s workplaces.

Real property initiatives

Real property initiatives have stepped as much as assist the “Evim Yuvam Olsun” marketing campaign, with sahibinden.com, emlakjet and hepsiemlak becoming a member of as challenge companions.

An announcement mentioned the marketing campaign was launched to offer housing options for residents affected by the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes.

It supplies a platform for beneficiant residents to supply their houses freed from cost or at a reduced value to these in want.

“We know that there are citizens who want to open their unused houses and accommodate earthquake victims all over our country. Therefore, we are implementing a system that our generous people can offer their homes to those in need free of charge or at a discounted price with a reliable application,” the assertion mentioned.

“We also offer the opportunity to provide shelter support to earthquake victims through cash donations for citizens who do not have the opportunity to allocate a house. In this way, we make accommodation opportunities available to those affected by the earthquake,” it added.

Unused homes for survivors

Those who want to take part within the marketing campaign with their houses should make a dedication of a minimum of three months, which might be prolonged to as much as a 12 months. Those who wish to lease their houses at a reduced charge are required to open their houses for a 12 months.

Applications are fastidiously reviewed by the district governorship, and householders should signal a mortgage settlement with the authorities.

Once authorized, the earthquake sufferer households are positioned within the houses, and the decided rental charge is roofed by donations collected within the account of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

In addition to providing free housing, the marketing campaign additionally encourages residents to offer money rental help to earthquake survivors.

Moreover, insurance coverage can be supplied to safe the residences of residents who open their houses to the survivors. The insurance coverage premiums are lined by Türkiye Insurance and supply protection for one 12 months as much as TL 25,000 towards dangers to the gadgets in the home, the constructing and its integral installations.

The “Evim Yuvan Olsun” marketing campaign thus supplies a floor for residents to unite and assist these affected by the catastrophe. Whether by providing an empty home, offering rental help, or making a money donation to the related donation account of AFAD, there are numerous methods to become involved and make a distinction.

Content appropriate for distant schooling

Meanwhile, MentalUP, a Turkish gamified schooling platform, continues to broaden its providers to new markets and options content material that’s appropriate for earthquake survivors’ distant schooling wants.

Co-owned by Türk Telekom via its company enterprise capital firm, TT Ventures, the digital schooling platform reached 5 million new customers in 15 completely different nations in 2022, because it continues to try towards being acknowledged as one of the crucial profitable schooling startups.

In addition, the corporate has added a brand new module known as “Event Center” to its product portfolio. It affords kids a chance to take part in up-to-date actions and competitions whereas bettering their psychological abilities, equivalent to consideration and reminiscence, via mind video games and health workout routines.

Children draw as part of an activity to entertain and support the mental health of children affected by the deadly earthquake, in Adıyaman, Türkiye, Feb. 17, 2023. (Reuters Photo)

Children draw as a part of an exercise to entertain and assist the psychological well being of youngsters affected by the lethal earthquake, in Adıyaman, Türkiye, Feb. 17, 2023. (Reuters Photo)

The platform managed so as to add new to the markets it served in 2022 and contributed to kids’s studying whereas having enjoyable, supplies options for distance studying and is ready to assist schooling for earthquake victims.

Muhammed Özhan, common supervisor of TT Ventures, acknowledged that MentalUP’s person base is growing each day and that they’ve began serving 5 million new customers in 15 completely different nations, together with the United States, Australia, Canada and the U.Ok.

“We are proud to support initiatives of the startup, which Türk Telekom supported through its PİLOT program in 2016 and then became a partner with TT Ventures, and its initiatives that make a difference in education,” mentioned Özhan.

Event Center module

The co-founder of MentalUP, Emre Özgündüz, acknowledged that their objective is to succeed in 30 million customers by the top of 2023, via development efforts in numerous markets and an growth into African and Central European nations.

“In 2022, our application achieved remarkable success in the domestic market, becoming one of the most widely used in our demographic. We focused on growth efforts in different markets in 2022 with the aim of opening up our experiences in the Turkish market to global markets,” mentioned Özgündüz.

“This resulted in the acquisition of 5 million additional users globally, bringing our total user base to 15 million. Our objective is to continue this trend of growth, with a focus on expanding into African and Central European countries. By the end of 2023, we aim to reach a total of 30 million users worldwide,” he famous.

The main gamified schooling platform aimed toward enhancing the psychological skills of youngsters aged 4-13, MentalUP has launched its new module, the “Event Center.”

This module affords a complete studying expertise with a variety of video games and animations-based workout routines aimed toward bettering kids’s bodily and psychological well-being. With over 150 video games and 210 health workout routines, the Event Center supplies kids with a fascinating platform to be taught and compete with one another, with over 500,000 kids having participated in occasions held inside the module to this point.

MentalUP has gained widespread recognition and recognition, being ranked among the many high 10 most downloaded apps within the 6-8 Age Children Category on the Apple App Store within the United States.

In recognition of its efforts to advertise expertise within the sports activities area, its “MentalUP Fitness for Kids” challenge has earned a high 10 rating within the “BiGG Sports Awards,” which was organized by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Source: www.dailysabah.com