Season finale of the ‘Meaning of Life Book’ project in Cesme

The season finale of the ‘Meaning of Life is Book’ project, carried out by the Cesme District Governorship to instill a reading habit in students and teachers, under the coordination of Arzu Güleryüz Maraşlı, took place at Cesme Castle accompanied by its historical atmosphere and beautiful view. Cesme District Governor Mehmet Maraşlı, Project Coordinator Arzu Güleryüz Maraşlı, Cesme Mayor Lal Denizli, District Police Chief Murat Dokumacı, District Gendarmerie Commander Lieutenant Yavuz Yaşar, District National Education Director Şahan Çöker, representatives of NGOs, political party representatives, institution executives, chamber presidents, village headmen, tourism professionals, teachers, students, writers, and artists attended the season finale of the ‘Meaning of Life is Book’ project. The program, presented by Belgin Taylan, started with a moment of silence and the National Anthem. Governor Maraşlı, in his speech at the event, expressed pride in holding the second season finale of the ‘Meaning of Life is Book’ project in the atmosphere of this beautiful Cesme Castle built by our ancestors. He emphasized the importance of preparing our human resources to excel in all fields for what we call the Century of Turkey. He highlighted the necessity of developing not only test-solving skills but also reading and comprehension skills for children to succeed in exams. Governor Maraşlı mentioned their effort to spread the habit of reading books at home, which he and his wife, both teachers, practice, to all students and children. He concluded his speech by thanking the supporters and sponsors of the project and wishing for a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous summer tourism season. Arzu Güleryüz Maraşlı, the coordinator of the ‘Meaning of Life is Book’ project, stated in her speech that the project started on March 7, 2023, aiming to instill a reading habit in all students and teachers in Cesme. Within the scope of the project, they read books for 20 minutes every day in schools and accompanied book reading hours in a total of 33 schools. They organized monthly author-reader meetings for 8 months. Participating authors included Salim Kadıbeşegil, Selen Baranoğlu, Ali Rıza İşipek, Arslan Sayman, İsmihan Artan, Merve Çalışkan, Mehmet Ali Karabulut, Gürkan Kap, Yaşar Gürsoy, and Şermin Yaşar. They organized various book reading activities with different events held in different locations (Köstem Olive Oil Museum, Aya Haralambos Church, Alacati Mosque, Alacati Windmills, Izmir Cultural and Art Factory, Pırlanta Beach). A total of 2520 books were gifted to schools with the ‘100 Books to Each School’ campaign. On the 3rd Sunday of April, a book swap festival was organized on the occasion of ‘Book Gift Day.’ Effective Communication and Oratory Training for teachers and anger management training with Arslan Sayman were provided. Book reading activities were organized for adults attending literacy courses provided by the Public Education Center. Activities such as reading fairy tales, clown shows, and artistic workshops were organized for 30 orphaned children living in Izmir and Cesme. A ‘Story Time’ event was held every Saturday-Sunday at 21.00 on the Instagram page. With the slogan ‘Books are lights guiding civilization,’ they encouraged reading, learning, thinking, and questioning through their project. The light of our project symbolizes our goal of leaving a mark on the future.’ The program continued with the unique performances of the Izmir State Opera and Ballet artists, awarding students who excelled in the Meaning of Life is Book project reading contest, and presenting plaques to individuals and institutions contributing to and supporting the project. At the end of the program, guests were treated to a cocktail reception in the magnificent atmosphere of Cesme Castle.