The Hochschule vor Ort (HvO) presented models and idea boards for the use and design of Mehmet-Kubaşık-Platz in Dortmund's Nordstadt district on Saturday, August 20, 2022. They were developed together with pupils, residents, tradespeople and students in five ideas workshops at the beginning of May. The motto is "And now we!", the partners are Anne-Frank-Gesamtschule and Quartiersmanagement Nordstadt.
The focus was on collecting the wishes, concerns and demands of the citizens of Nordstadt and thus the potential users of the square, from small to large, in order to give this special place more attention and significance. Visitors to the exhibitions on site also contributed many other exciting ideas.
In addition to the question of use and design, the remembrance of the square's namesake, Mehmet Kubaşık, was also a central component of the event. Since 2019, the square on the corner of Mallinckrodtstraße and Münsterstraße has been named after the kiosk owner, who was shot dead in his kiosk on Mallinckrodtstraße by the far-right terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU) in 2006.
However, he was not only the eighth victim of the NSU murder series, but also a loving husband, father and valued member of Dortmund's Nordstadt district.
A sign of diversity
To commemorate the person and life of Mehmet Kubaşık, symbols, words and colors were jointly poured into shapes that were hung up during the day of the event to set an example for a diverse society.
Nicole Wilke, event organizer at HvO-Nordstadtgalerie, looks back on the day with satisfaction: "It was important for us to ask the residents of Nordstadt, as users of the square, what they would like to see. The many good ideas and the positive response show that there is both the will and the need to improve the quality of the square. We hope that much of this will also be implemented in reality."