A meaningful program was organized at our university on the occasion of March 12 – the Adoption of the National Anthem and the Commemoration Day of Mehmet Akif Ersoy. The program was attended by our Rector Prof. Dr. Mevlüt Karataş, Provincial Director of National Education Ayhan Işık, Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Muharrem Ovacıklı, State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) Provincial Director Tarık Anıl Koçak, Telekom Director Yasin Güngör, as well as academic and administrative staff and students.

The program began with a moment of silence followed by the recitation of the Turkish National Anthem. Afterwards, our Rector Prof. Dr. Mevlüt Karataş delivered a welcoming speech highlighting the significance and importance of the day.

As part of the event, a short film about the adoption process of the National Anthem and the life of our National Poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy was screened. Later in the program, our university’s Faculty of Engineering student Betül Zülal Kekillioğlu, Faculty of Law student Ece Tunç, and Yağız Güzel, who placed second in the Çankırı National Anthem Recitation Competition, recited the National Anthem, creating emotional moments for the audience.

During the program, Mehmet Kurtoğlu, Secretary General of the Turkish Writers’ Union and a poet and writer, delivered a conference titled “The Adoption of the National Anthem on March 12 and Mehmet Akif Ersoy.” In his speech, Kurtoğlu shared insights with the participants about the writing process of the National Anthem, the intellectual world of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, and the meaning the anthem holds for our nation.

At the end of the program, certificates of appreciation were presented to poet-writer Mehmet Kurtoğlu and to the students who recited the National Anthem.

The event concluded with a visit to the photography exhibition organized under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kazım Çandır, a faculty member of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at our university’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.