Istanbul’s Disaster-focused Digital Twin project wins CEB Award for Social Cohesion 2025

Budva – The ground-breaking disaster-resilience project Digital Twin, from Türkiye, is the winner of this year’s CEB Award for Social Cohesion for its innovative approach to disaster preparedness. Two runner-up projects, Sylni Together from Ukraine and Capacity from Italy, were also commended at the award ceremony in Budva, on the eve of the CEB’s 58th Joint Meeting in Montenegro.

The €45,000 prize was awarded to Digital Twin for its transformative impact on disaster relief planning in Istanbul. In a region highly vulnerable to earthquakes and floods, this project enhances disaster resilience by creating a virtual replica of Istanbul, powered by real-time data, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things sensors. This enables authorities to predict risks, improve emergency response coordination and protect vulnerable populations.

With its sustainable, scalable infrastructure, Digital Twin serves as a model for disaster preparedness and smart city integration, offering replicable solutions that could benefit other cities in Europe.

“It is a privilege to be recognised with the CEB Award for our “Disaster-Focused Digital Twin Project,” which uses advanced 3D city modelling, simulations, and AI-driven analytics to enhance disaster management. This prestigious award highlights İstanbul's commitment to urban resilience and disaster preparedness, setting an example for cities worldwide. The project aims to provide a global roadmap for building more resilient, sustainable cities, guiding communities to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters,” said Elif Gökçe Kıyak, Smart City Representative, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

“Congratulations to Digital Twin for their exceptional work in advancing disaster resilience,” said CEB Governor Carlo Monticelli. “With its life-saving potential for millions of Istanbul residents and the use of Artificial Intelligence for social good, this project embodies the spirit of innovation and high social impact that the CEB Award celebrates.”

Runner-Up Projects
Two runner-up projects were also recognised during the CEB Award ceremony:

• Sylni Together, a Ukrainian initiative providing free and confidential medical care and psychotherapy to survivors of sexual violence. Sylni works to break the silence, reduce stigma and ensure the survivors receive medical and psychological support they need.
• Capacity, a project by Fondazione MeSSInA, which tackles extreme socio-economic exclusion in the shanty towns of Messina, a legacy of the 1908 devastating earthquake that struck Southern Italy. By providing marginalised individuals with housing, employment and education opportunities, the project has already changed the lives of more than 200 families.

Both Sylni Together and Capacity will each receive €5,000 in recognition of their valuable contributions to social resilience and inclusion.

About the CEB Award

Launched in 2020, the CEB Award for Social Cohesion celebrates and rewards projects making significant contributions to social cohesion. As of 2024, the winning prize is €45,000. Additionally, two runners-up receive a €5,000 prize each.

The winners and runners-up are selected by an international Jury of experts based on the criteria of impact, sustainability and innovation/replicability. This year, the Jury was chaired by Gianluca Esposito, Director General, Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Council of Europe. The Jury included:

- Ornella D’Amico, Deputy Secretary General, Finance in Common
- Guillaume Capelle, Founder of SINGA and CALM
- Thomas Marois, Reader in Development Studies, SOAS University of London
- Tomáš Boček, Vice-Governor for Target Group Countries, CEB

For more information visit award.coebank.org.