Türkiye's 650 youth centers serve more than 10 million young people, offering activities in arts, music, culture and sports as the government seeks to steer young people away from digital addiction and substance abuse, Youth and Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak said on Sunday.

Speaking at the opening of two cultural and youth facilities in the Ibradı district of Antalya, southwestern Türkiye, Bak said the centers provide spaces for young people to socialize, develop their interests and strengthen their ties to the country's cultural values.

"Our aim is to keep young people away from harmful habits, particularly digital addiction and drugs, which are among the biggest problems of our age,” Bak said. "Young people need places where they can engage in various activities, particularly music, art and sports.”

Bak said the ministry was continuing to establish youth centers across Türkiye to expand opportunities for young people to participate in cultural, artistic and sporting activities.

"We are working to raise young people who love their homeland and nation, and value their cultural heritage and national values,” he said, adding that the centers also help young people socialize.

Türkiye expands student accommodation

Bak also highlighted investments in student accommodation in Antalya, saying nearly 5,000 additional dormitory places had been provided for university students in the province over the past 3.5 years.

He said the investments were intended to ensure that students in Antalya did not face accommodation difficulties.

Nationwide, Türkiye has a capacity to accommodate 1 million university students through dormitories operated by the Credit and Dormitories Institution (KYK), Bak said.

He added that students staying in state dormitories receive free breakfast and dinner, while paying a monthly accommodation fee of TL 1,400 (28$). The dormitories also provide various social activities, he said.

Bak described the country's student accommodation system as one of its major public investments in higher education, claiming that comparable arrangements were not available elsewhere in Europe or the world.