As an organisation, MELCom International wishes to express sincere solidarity with the people affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria who are still experiencing loss and pain following the  earthquake disaster.  As individuals our hearts bleed to witness the scale of human casualties and of material and cultural damage as well. The catastrophe happened on February 6th but the crisis still goes on and will require a lot of attention and aid for a long time. MELCom International invites all those interested in the region to participate and help reliable relief organizations in their respective countries or in Turkey.

The upcoming MELCom International annual conference is of course maintained and we look forward to meeting there with our Turkish colleagues in order to express our support in person as well.  The venue of the conference, Antalya has not been impacted by the earthquake and our local organizers reassure us of their hospitality, as ever.

In order to support libraries and librarians affected by the earthquake disaster in Türkiye and Syria, an aid campaign was launched in cooperation with the Turkish Librarians Association (TLA), University and Research Librarians Association (UNAK) and Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS). To give financial support to the aid campaign of these three NGOs, you may donate to the bank account number below. To ensure coordination, please write only “EARTHQUAKE” in the explanation part.
You also may share this information on your professional network.

EURO Account:  Ziraat Bankası Yenişehir Şubesi
Account Name: Türk Kütüphaneciler Derneği  / Turkish Librarians Association
IBAN: TR 40000 1000 471 39775141 5005
SWIFTCODE:  TCZBTR2AXXX
USD Account: Ziraat Bankası Yenişehir Şubesi
Account Name: Türk Kütüphaneciler Derneği / Turkish Librarians Association
IBAN: TR 67000 1000 471 39775141 5004
SWIFTCODE:  TCZBTR2AXXX
CHIPS: 409993

Apart from that a very reliable NGO was recommended by our Turkish friends which is Ahbap<https://ahbap.org/>. They are active  in relief work in the area of the earthquake. Donations can be made here https://ahbap.org/disasters-turkey