The Media Library, built by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality in the Media neighbourhood of Kayapınar, has officially opened following the completion of construction. The opening ceremony was attended by Co-Mayors Serra Bucak and Emin Ay; DBB Council Co-Spokespersons Demet Ceylan and Ayhan Karatekin; council members; MPs; DBB General Secretary Serdar Bakıroğlu; Deputy General Secretaries; co-mayors of district municipalities; representatives of civil society organisations; and students.

Co-Mayor Ay: ‘We are aware of our responsibility as the Metropolitan Municipality’

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Co-Mayor Emin Ay said education was the greatest and most fundamental investment a society and a nation could make.

‘Without education, no society can develop or attain the level needed to stand alongside other societies around the world today. Education begins at home, with mothers and fathers, before progressing step by step through the stages of the formal curriculum. We know that people cannot easily achieve their goals through the formal curriculum alone. The aim of education should be to understand science. As the Metropolitan Municipality, we are aware of our responsibility in this regard,’ he said.

Co-Mayor Ay said the municipality would open more libraries and create new spaces where young people could feel comfortable, read, engage in dialogue and build relationships through science. He wished the new library every success.

Co-Mayor Bucak: ‘We will continue our efforts’

Speaking at the opening, Co-Mayor Serra Bucak thanked the municipal staff who had contributed to the library’s construction, those who had put forward suggestions and the head of the Media neighbourhood, who had closely followed the process.

Noting that Diyarbakır had grown considerably, with four central districts and 17 districts in total, Co-Mayor Bucak said the number of libraries in the central districts remained insufficient.

‘Whether large or small, we will continue working to make use of car parks and other designated areas that have, in one way or another, been left to our municipality, and to make them available to our society and our people,’ she said.

Highlighting inequalities and structural problems in education, Co-Mayor Bucak stressed that local government was part of the solution. She said the municipality was open to cooperation with public institutions and civil society organisations, particularly the Ministry of National Education, adding that such partnerships would benefit the city’s children, young people and women.

‘We turned an abandoned car park into a library’

Responding to criticism on social media questioning why a library was being built in Kayapınar, Co-Mayor Bucak explained that the site had been an abandoned car park left to the municipality.

‘If this car park had been abandoned in Şehitlik, we would have built it there; if it had been in Bağlar, we would have built it there. Had we not made use of this site, other public institutions, including those responsible for planning and public works, might have taken it out of our hands and put it to another use, one we did not want. We do everything we can to ensure that the things that belong to our city remain with us, are shaped by our vision and are developed with the participation of you, our people,’ she said.

‘We will put our plans into action’

Co-Mayor Bucak said the library was one of two sites in Kayapınar being repurposed for public use in this way. The other is the Mahabad Women's Life Centre, which is due to open soon. She added that projects in other parts of the city would be implemented as part of the municipality's 2027 work programme.

Mehmet Kamaç, a Diyarbakır MP for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), also thanked everyone involved in opening the library and expressed his hope that the facility would serve as a repository of collective memory for society and future generations.

Library officially opened

Following the speeches, the Co-Mayors and other attendees cut the ribbon to officially open the library. They then toured the facility and spoke with students.

About the Media Library and Study Centre

Built on a 490-square-metre site in Kayapınar, the facility aims to improve children's and young people's access to books, information and educational opportunities. It provides study space for around 110 students at a time, four group study rooms suitable for collaborative work and discussion, an individual study room, a library and a cafeteria.