On 10 October 2015, Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (CPTUT / DİSK), Confederation of Public Employees’ Trade Unions (CPETU / KESK), Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA / TMMOB) and Turkish Medical Association (TMA / TTB) called a meeting for a Labor, Peace and Democracy in Ankara. Thousands of people across Turkey met at Ankara Train Station. 103 citizens lost their lives in the two terrorist bombings that materialized right after the march started, hundreds were injured and thousands were stayed alive by minutes only. This attack, the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the Turkish Republic, has gone down in history as a crime against humanity; and the intent of the massacre, embodying its time and space, inflicted a deep wound on public conscience.
The sense of Train Station Square comprehended thereafter 10 October, entails a different approach to the urban space and constituents of this space where the incident happened. In order to commemorate those who lost their lives in the massacre, to remember and remind the crime of humanity that was suffered, this square where social deprivation took place requires reconsideration through a holistic approach and a kind of “memorial/monument square”. Because remembrance is a significant practice that carries social memory towards the future. Reproducing memory in space through practices enables us to perceive the city as a common ground that is alive with its all elements, wherein social consciousness and awareness are reproduced along the generations.
Competition aims to make sure that 10 October is not to be forgotten on a social level; to honor the memories of the individuals, who lost their lives, and the individuals, who survived; and to reproduce the memory in space and everyday life. The objective is to reproduce Ankara Train Station and the Square as a public space, where citizens will come together, dedicated to our common values of
labor, peace and democracy for generations.
