Türkiye’s Largest Active Living Center for People with Disabilities Opens in Karatay

Türkiye’s largest Active Living Center for People with Disabilities, bringing together education, rehabilitation, daytime care, and social services for individuals with special needs and their families, has officially opened alongside the Karatay Accessible Life Park.

Completed by the Karatay Municipality, the Karatay Active Living Center for People with Disabilities and the Karatay Accessible Life Park were inaugurated during a ceremony attended by Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş. As the largest facility of its kind in Türkiye and the first active living center for people with disabilities in Konya, the complex will provide comprehensive support for individuals with special needs and their families by offering education, rehabilitation, daytime care, and social services under one roof.

Built with an investment of 300 million Turkish lira, the Karatay Active Living Center for People with Disabilities will operate under the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Bringing together a wide range of services—including education, rehabilitation, daytime care, vocational workshops, sports and recreational facilities, and relaxation areas—the center aims to improve the quality of life for individuals with special needs while providing extensive support for their families.

Constructed on a 10,544-square-meter site with 7,164 square meters of indoor space, the center has the capacity to serve up to 600 people simultaneously, making it the largest active living center for people with disabilities in Türkiye. As Konya’s first facility of its kind, it will make a significant contribution to the education, rehabilitation, and social development of individuals with special needs through its comprehensive facilities and services.

The center includes dedicated special education rooms for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, specific learning disabilities, hearing impairments, and visual impairments. It also features speech and language therapy rooms, physiotherapy facilities, sensory integration and sensory relaxation rooms, as well as classrooms for education and supervised study.

Its daytime care unit, with a capacity of 60 people, will provide professional support throughout the day for the care, education, and development of individuals with special needs, while also offering services designed to make daily life easier for their families.

The center also includes a wide range of workshops designed to help individuals with special needs discover their interests, develop new skills, and participate more actively in social life.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage in handicrafts, ceramics and clay, painting and visual arts, printing, computer studies, science, pastry and culinary arts, carpet and kilim weaving, music, drama, recycling, dance, and agriculture workshops, where they will both contribute to production and receive training that supports their personal development.

Adjacent to the center, the 15,000-square-meter Karatay Accessible Life Park has been designed as a safe, accessible, and inclusive environment where individuals with special needs can spend quality time with their families.

The park features outdoor sports facilities, walking paths, expansive green spaces, relaxation areas, and agricultural practice zones. Every section has been planned to encourage greater social participation by individuals with special needs.

The complex also includes quiet and audio libraries, a conference hall, a sports hall, a dining hall, a prayer room, and multipurpose social spaces. Designed with accessibility at its core, the center also offers outdoor sports facilities and various social areas tailored to the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Kılca: “We Are Working Without Leaving Any Citizen Behind”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca said they were proud to inaugurate Türkiye’s largest active living center for people with disabilities and Konya’s first facility of its kind, describing it as one of the most significant examples of Karatay’s people-centered approach to municipal services.

Emphasizing that individuals with special needs have always been among the municipality’s top priorities, Kılca said that removing barriers extends far beyond physical accessibility. “We know that disability does not begin in the body—it begins in the heart,” he said. He added that Karatay Municipality will continue to serve with a people-focused approach to social municipal services, ensuring that no citizen is left behind.