Over its tumultuous history, Antakya has been ravaged by earthquakes, floods, and wars. Each time, the people of Hatay have restored this remarkable city on the Orontes river. However, the 2023 earthquake was the worst in 1500 years (since 526CE), and displaced 75% of the population. There are strong calls for assistance in rebuilding dwellings and infrastructure, but also the intangible cultural heritage of Hatay [https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/hatay], with its striking history, gastronomy, and mixed cultural practices. MİRAS has the connections on the ground to develop educational and community projects in tent camps, container villages, and more permanent dwellings. For children and adolescents, this is largely being done in close collaboration with local schools. For adults, we build as much as possible on existing social and cultural structures, creating synergies in revitalising them.
In order to support economic activity and ensure sustainability, we engage and train mainly local artists and trainee industry professionals for these activities, supported by know-how from across the world through our International Advisory Board
