Mehmet Akif and Family were discussed at Bilim Kafe: "Hayat-ı aile dünyada en safâlı hayat"

The Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) Science Cafe event, organized under the coordination of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) Science Communication Office, hosted a meaningful conversation as part of Mehmet Akif Ersoy Week. In the event held under the title “Hayat-ı Aile Dünyada En Safâlı Hayat,” Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s views on family, morality, and society were discussed.

The program, in which the Dean of the Faculty of Education Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar participated as a speaker, was attended by Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy, Deputy Provincial Director of National Education Salim Oğuz, Provincial National Education Branch Manager Muhammet Çiftçi, Science Cafe Coordinator Assoc. Murat Kara, along with academicians and students.

Speaking at the conversation, Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar pointed out that the concept of family is undergoing a significant transformation process today, expressing that changing lifestyles, increasing divorce rates, and intergenerational distances are the most evident indicators of this transformation. Emphasizing that the family is not only a structure that needs to be protected but also a fundamental value that needs to be strengthened and redefined, Çakar stated that the declared Family Year offers important social awareness in this regard.

Çakar, stating that universities have an important responsibility in this process, said that the family is addressed from a scientific perspective through the Women and Family Studies Center and the Family Studies Master's Program with Thesis conducted within MAKÜ. She noted that these studies are a concrete reflection of the university's responsibility towards society.

In her speech, Prof. Dr. Çakar emphasized that the family holds a central place in Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s world of thought, stating that according to Akif, the family is the strongest structure that connects the individual to society and society to the homeland. Saying “Family love is the first source of love for the homeland,” Çakar stated that the moral education given in the family is the foundation of social and national consciousness.

Touching on the complementary roles of mother and father, Çakar highlighted the importance of a discipline approach balanced with compassion. She stated that authority based on violence has no place in Akif’s world of thought, saying that the family is the child’s first school, and the mother and father are the first teachers. She emphasized that values not instilled in the family cannot be compensated by the school alone.

Provincial National Education Branch Manager Muhammet Çiftçi, who spoke at the program, drew attention to Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s multifaceted personality, stating that Akif is not only a poet but also a scholar, a family man, and a man of action. Çiftçi stated that knowledge remains a burden unless it touches life, saying that Safahat and the National Anthem should not only be read but also understood and connected with life.

Deputy Provincial Director of National Education Salim Oğuz, in his speech, pointed out that words and promises have lost value today, emphasizing that in Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s world, words are equivalent to faith. He stated that behind Akif’s ability to describe a front he never saw so deeply in the poem of the Martyrs of Çanakkale lies a strong sense of faith and responsibility.

At the end of the program, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy presented a certificate of appreciation to Prof. Dr. Firdevs Savi Çakar for her contributions to the conversation. The event once again highlighted the aspects of Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s understanding of family, morality, and homeland that shed light on today’s society.