“Hackathon 2025” Combined Awareness and Innovation

Organized by Bornova Municipality under the theme “A Disaster-Resilient Bornova,” Hackathon 2025 brought together eight teams of university students who worked for 36 hours to develop projects focused on disaster management and urban resilience. The team HETZGEN took first place in the competition. Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki emphasized that disasters are caused not by nature itself, but by human mistakes. The event received wide acclaim for inspiring young people to use technology to build resilience against disasters.

Held on the anniversary of the October 30 İzmir Earthquake at Dramalılar Mansion, the competition featured eight student teams who developed and presented innovative disaster management solutions after 36 hours of non-stop work. With the support of Bornova Municipality, the first-place team HETZGEN received ₺120,000, the second-place team HGDROTECH won ₺100,000, and İNNOV 8 placed third with ₺80,000 in prizes.

Ömer Eşki: “It is human error that turns natural events into disasters”

During his closing remarks, Mayor Ömer Eşki underlined that disasters occur not because of natural phenomena themselves, but due to human negligence and poor planning:

“We live in a country prone to disasters. Earthquakes, floods, and fires are facts of nature. But what turns them into disasters are human errors, negligence, and sometimes greed. The destruction we saw in Kahramanmaraş, İzmir, and Kocaeli are all results of this. We must think, learn, and innovate so as not to repeat these mistakes.”

Explaining that the idea behind Hackathon stemmed from this awareness, Eşki added:

“We cannot do this alone. We must work together with students, scientists, and curious young minds. When implementation goes wrong, we all suffer. Our goal is to create a culture of life where natural events no longer turn into disasters.”

He concluded by highlighting his faith in young people:

“Today, we are here for more than just a competition. Our strongest weapons against disasters are knowledge, technology, and solidarity.”

Öziçer: “Every great change begins with a small idea”

Sinancan Öziçer, Director of Bornova Municipality’s Disaster Affairs and Risk Management Department, stated that the projects developed by young participants have the potential to save lives in the future:

“You are not just competitors; you are heroes planting the seeds of life-saving ideas. Perhaps one of the ideas developed here today will help a family stay safe one day. Remember — every great change begins with a small idea.”

He also emphasized the importance of collective awareness rather than individual action in disaster preparedness and thanked all participants for their contributions.

Expert jury

The jury included distinguished experts such as Earthquake Scientist Yoshinori Moriwaki, Prof. Dr. Himmet Karaman from Istanbul Technical University, Dr. Uğur Demir from İzmir Institute of Technology, Bornova Deputy Mayor Özlem Ayan, and Build Change Deputy Director Noll Tufani.