Izmir Metropolitan Municipality put four Book Cafes into the service of the citizens. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Book Cafe within APİKAM, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer“We have to produce art, not just consuming literature. Book Cafes want to be an inspiration for those who want to produce literature and art. This is just the beginning, there will be more to come," he said.
İZELMAN A.Ş, one of the affiliates of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, has put Ahmet Piriştina City Archive and Museum (APİKAM), Mustafa Necati Bey Cultural Center, Konak Metro station and four Book Cafés in the Seferihisar Hıdırlık neighborhood into the service of İzmir residents. Speaking at the opening of APIKAM Bookstore, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer“We have to produce art, not just consuming literature. Izmir is capable of this. We want Book Cafes to be a bit of inspiration for those who want to produce literature and art. We want them to sit here and have the opportunity to produce. This is just the beginning, more to come. If we want to build a much more beautiful country, if we want to be happy with a smiling face in a more beautiful country, we have no other choice. We will enlarge, multiply, increase the book. We will bring together more Book Cafes and libraries with İzmir.”
“Without books, art and literature, we are poor and incomplete”
Expressing that literature and art should not be a whim of only time, money and intellectuals, the President Tunç Soyer“A city with a history of 8 years, a city that hosted Homer, the city where literature was born is actually Izmir. In short, we have a lot to do about literature and art. Honor, honesty, justice, equality, the way to this is through literature and art. Literature and art make us breathe, give us hope, guide us to change. It becomes a guide for developing the future. It gives strength to endure troubles and pains. The book is everything. Without books, without art and literature, we are very poor and deficient,” he said.
“We will bring together more neighborhoods with books”
Mayor Soyer underlined that book cafes are one of the steps to spread art in İzmir and said: “Another sibling of our project is our Campaign for a Library for Every Neighborhood. With this campaign, we provided easy access to the book for everyone in Izmir. We wanted the children of the neighborhood to come from the headman's office to buy books and to have easy access. The people of Izmir donated more than 30 thousand books to our campaign. Our municipality is building 50 neighborhood libraries to deliver these books to our citizens. We have completed 26 of them so far, and the others will be at the service of the people of Izmir until the end of this year. Next year, we will bring together more neighborhoods with books.”
“Never, never despair”
Stating that he can overcome everything as long as the society has hope, President Soyer said, “However, if we do not have dreams and hope, we are finished. That's why you never, ever despair. We will continue to increase hope with firm steps that seem small. Just like in the book cafes that we opened today," he said.
“The book should be a compulsory consumption item”
President Tunç Soyer Stating that they promoted the book “Land of the Lost Gods” two years ago in Bergama, writer Ahmet Ümit said, “There is no such thing as civilization if there is no book. It is very valuable that this structure was opened in a historical area in Izmir, in a place where the archives of the Republican period are located. On Saturday, I was at İzmir's new book fair İZKİTAP. The interest of the people of Izmir was very good. Having the book on the agenda is a very valuable thing. If we want a new Turkey, change starts at home. The book should be a mandatory consumable item. Just as we eat eggs to children at home, that book must be read at home. The Book Cafe is a very important business in this respect,” he said.
After the opening, Kitap Kafe hosted Ahmet Ümit in its first interview. The beloved author signed his books for his readers.
What's in Book Cafes?
APİKAM's publications, İZELMAN A.Ş.'s own publications and various books will be sold at the Book Cafes. Citizens of the city will be able to drink tea, coffee, access the internet and read books in these cafes. İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Culture and Art Department İZELMAN A.Ş. will regularly bring writers together with their readers. The cafes, where activities related to science, culture and art will be held, will be frequented by young people.
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