The 10th November Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony, organised by ARUCAD Rectorate, took place in the ARUCAD Garden.
The Atatürk Commemoration Programme has begun under the leadership of ARUCAD Rector Prof. Dr. Asım Vehbi, with the laying of wreaths by ARUCAD academics, staff and students on the Atatürk bust. After a minute’s of silence for the Founder of the Republic of Turkey, the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the National Anthem was sung.
Delivering the speech for the Commemoration of Atatürk Programme, ARUCAD Faculty of Communication faculty members Assist. Assoc. Dr. Hakan Karahasan, declared, “The act of remembering and forgetting is extremely important, not only for nation building, but also for individuals in the building of themselves. Instead of seeing Atatürk as just a military genius and a successful politician, I would like to briefly touch upon the legacy of reason and science that he left to us educators and students here at the university.
Talking about how Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was not only a military genius and a successful politician, but also a pioneer in the establishment of the Republic; the ways he suggested for the young Turkish Republic to reach the ‘level of contemporary civilisations’, Karahasan added, “The importance he attaches to science and reason is the unique factor that carries him into the present day, even to the future, not limiting him to the age in which he lived. I believe that the importanc hee that attached to children and young people is very well known, especially in Turkey and Cyprus. Right after the alphabet revolution in Turkey, the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus, part of the British Empire at the time, adopted the revolutions that Atatürk carried out in Turkey and led to the beginning of Westernisation and modernisation movements within Cyprus. It is possible to see in society in Cyprus, the steps taken by Atatürk in the foundations of secularism, gender equality and the importance given to education.”
Assist. Assoc. Dr. Hakan Karahasan concluded his speech by stating that they commemorated Atatürk with love and gratitude in the 83rd year of his death.