9th International Conference of Museums for Peace

The 9th International Conference of Museums for Peace was held in Belfast (10-13, April 2017). The International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) is a global network of peace museums, peace gardens and other peace related sites, centres and institutions that share the aim to cultivate a global culture of peace. The conference theme was “Cities as Living Museums for Peace” and highlighted Belfast’s social and political transformation from a divided, troubled city to a one which models peace consciousness through post-conflict healing and reconciliation. The 9th International Conference of Museums for Peace was hosted by Ulster University, with the support of Visit Belfast. I gave the keynote address with Dr Elizabeth Crooke, Ulster University. Hopefully we will get around to publishing it some time soon.

9th International Conference of Museums for Peace Participants at Belfast City Hall

Conflict museums and nostalgia

I have a new article out "Conflict museums, nostalgia, and dreaming of never again" published in Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Vol 18(3), Aug 2012, 268-281.

The abstract reads as follows: Sites that mark atrocity span the globe including Villa Grimaldi in Chile, the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum in eastern China, and Robben Island in South Africa. Generally such sites seek to have some form of social and individual impact. Typically they seek to educate the next generation and prevent future forms of atrocity by revealing the past. It is contended that an overly emotional focus on the narratives of victims at such sites can limit understanding of the dynamics that cause violence. The article also explores whether there is a nostalgic element to conflict museums. Although it seems counterintuitive that nostalgia would have any place in thinking back on periods of extreme violence, it is argued that nostalgia is present in a number of ways. How this plays out in postapartheid South Africa is specifically explored. The article concludes by highlighting the dangers in South Africa of what can be termed a regenerative nostalgia for the “struggle” against apartheid and the perceived unifying peace process that followed.

For more details see click here.

Learning from a trip down memory lane

The Tenement Museum in New York tells the story of a tenement building in the city used as low-income rental apartments for immigrants coming to the US between 1863 and 1935. Over these years, the building housed over 7 000 immigrants from more than 20 countries.

The museum takes you back in time through the re-creation of the apartments and tells the stories of the different people who lived in them. On visiting the museum recently, it was the life of Natalie Gumpertz, a Prussian immigrant, which touched me. After her husband went missing in 1874, she raised three girls alone and pulled her family out of poverty through dressmaking and a small inheritance. Focusing on stories like Natalie’s helps you realise that everyone has a story, even those who are seemingly forgotten.

Visiting this museum got me thinking about my own history. I am lucky because I have a dedicated relative who has spent an enormous amount of time tracing the family roots. As a result, I have information about my relatives, at least on one side of the family, back to 1769.

Without boring those who are not interested in my background, what has been significant about the process is to see how the family has changed over time. There are successful relatives as well as those who had problems, like alcoholism. However, what is undeniable is that even after periods of hardship and some relatives sinking into poverty, the family recovered and moved forward.

I understand this might not be the case in all families, and appreciate that in the South African context it has been difficult for many people to lift themselves out of poverty because of apartheid. However, one of the other impacts of apartheid and colonisation is that many people have lost touch with their history. Most South Africans know little about their families beyond the memories of living relatives.

Families were separated because of apartheid migrant labour and even whites were often cut off from their country of origin. The result of this has been a simplifying of the South African story. The dominant view is that all whites are somehow descendants of privilege, and diverse cultures in the black community are perceived as homogenous.

Of course, this is complicated by the fact that in South Africa, whites, largely because of apartheid, ended up being more advantaged than most black South Africans, who were shamefully discriminated against by whites. But thinking of South African national identity through the prism of the present can be limit- ing.

Many extraordinary historical stories of everyday resilience in the black community have been lost, or superseded by the bigger story of fighting against apartheid. That many white immigrants to South Africa were fleeing persecution and poverty is also underemphasised. Of course, this cannot hide the larger story of how many of these individuals then persecuted black South Africans. But my point is that losing touch with one’s history means one is more prone to repeat its negative aspects rather than learning from them. This results in those who were mistreated maltreating others, or those who make it out of poverty even today forgetting about their fellow citizens in the poverty trap.

I am not advocating a sanitised and sentimental trip down memory lane or suggesting that having poverty or discrimination in one’s background justifies one’s actions. But, rather, the process of uncovering my own family tree has taught me how change happens and to appreciate resilience, and that all history is marked with imperfection.

South Africa, not to mention Northern Ireland, could do with more complex and nuanced historical storytelling. It is only when we become aware of the indivi-dual journeys we have all travelled, and particularly how flawed these are in most cases, that we can really get to know one another and transform the present with a sense of humility and purpose.

This article by Brandon Hamber was published on Polity and in the Engineering News on 25 April 2008as part of the column "Look South". Copyright Brandon Hamber.

Ideas for a Museum to the Conflict in and about Northern Ireland

WANTED: IDEAS ON A MUSEUM TO THE CONFLICT IN AND ABOUT NORTHERN IRELAND

Healing Through Remembering (HTR) has issued an Open Call for Ideas on what form a Living Memorial Museum to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland should take – and as part of the project there will be a 7 public art-based workshops across Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.

The LMM sub group are looking for a range of imaginative ideas and want to hear from adults and children alike.

There are plenty of options to think about. Should a museum be in a new building or an existing one? Should it be in one building or should it tour a number of places and sites? Maybe it shouldn’t be a building at all - maybe a virtual space on the internet or something organic like a forest.

Submissions to the Open Call for Ideas can be written, be a photograph, a drawing, a sketch or a painting. Photographs of models are also welcome, but at this stage not models themselves because of a limit on display space. Multi-media submissions such as DVDs or CD-ROMs are also welcome.

The public workshops will include information about HTR and its work, and artists will be there to help people create their vision of the museum – this can include various art forms, visual and written.

Workshop dates and venues as follows:

18 Jul, The Clinton Centre, Enniskillen 2-5pm
28 Jul, The Border Arts Centre, Dundalk 11am-2pm
8 Aug, Imperial War Museum, London 2-5pm
12 Aug, St. Patrick's Trian, Armagh 11am-2pm
24 Aug, Irish Film Institute,Dublin 2-5pm
7 Sept, Waterfront Hall, Belfast 2-5pm
16Sept, The Junction, Derry/LondonDerry 11am-2pm

As spaces at the workshops are limited early booking is advised. Places can be reserved by emailing callforideas@healingthroughremembering.org or calling +44 (0)28 9023 8844. Full information on the Open Call for Ideas may be obtained from the project organiser, Emma McClintock, at Healing Through Remembering, Alexander House, 17A Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HD. T: 028 9023 8844.

HTR has been supported in the project by The Border Arts Centre, the Imperial War Museum London, the University of Ulster and Interface, the university’s Centre for Research in Art, Technologies and Design.

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 30 September 2006.

A selection of the submissions received will be chosen to form an exhibition in late 2006/early 2007.

Northern Ireland talks must address the past

MEDIA RELEASE - TALKS MUST ADDRESS THE PAST

Embargoed until 00.01 September 16th 2004

How we deal with the past must form part of the talks at Leeds Castle if we are serious about achieving long-term settlement.

This call comes from Healing Through Remembering (HTR), a diverse group of individuals who have spent three years developing a series of recommendations for how to come to terms with a conflictual past.

Speaking as the talks are set to begin, HTR’s Chairman Professor Roy McClelland said: “Achieving a political settlement is important and we welcome the start of today’s talks, but for any settlement to succeed we need to remember the past in a way that enables us to heal the wounds in our society. Without this, any long-term political settlement could be easily undermined.”

“There will be no ultimate peace until we have a clearer understanding of our shared past. Dealing with the past is a long-term process and there is certainly no quick solution that can be debated and agreed over four days of talks. This is a long, difficult and complex journey and there is a need for everyone sitting around the table to acknowledge the past in order to go forward”, added Professor McClelland.

By posing the question ‘How should we remember the events connected with the conflict in and about Northern Ireland’ the Healing Through Remembering project received a wide range of submissions from the general public, organisations and individuals. It has used these to develop a series of recommendations on how to move the process forward, which include

* Acknowledgement
* A Storytelling Process
* A Day of Reflection
* Permanent Living Memorial Museum
* A Network of Commemoration and Remembering Projects

A number of working groups are currently developing these recommendations into practical proposals.

“As a first step, we would call on those people representing our society within the talks at Leeds Castle to engage in a spirit of tolerance and respect and to be mindful that a failure to acknowledge the past will undermine any shared future. Everyone has a part to play in dealing with the memories of the past and there needs to be a willingness to take risks if we are to avoid further damage and move into a new future built on a shared acknowledgement of the past”, said Professor McClelland.

“Some will argue that drawing attention to the past will simply slow up the prospect of a political settlement”, added Professor McClelland, “however, we believe that coming to terms with the past is vital for moving forward and for any lasting peace”.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Nicky Petrie, Pagoda PR: 07960 586654/ 028 9092 3468
or
Kate Turner, Healing Through Remembering: 028 9023 8844/07786 263083
E: info@healingthroughremembering.org
W: www.healingthroughremembering.org

Notes to editors:

1. The key task of the Healing Through Remembering Project, formally launched in October 2001, was “to identify and document possible mechanisms and realisable options for healing through remembering for those affected by the conflict in and about Northern Ireland”.

2. Since the publication of Healing Through Remembering’s report the organisation has been engaged in discussions with groups and individuals about the report and the detailed recommendations. Encouraged by the feedback from these meetings Healing Through Remembering is now taking the recommendations further.

3. Copies of the Report are available on line at www.healingthroughremembering.org or by contacting the office, tel 02890238844; fax 02890239944, e-mail: info@healingthroughremembering.org

No single solution for dealing with the past in Northern Ireland

Healing Through Remembering Northern Ireland

MEDIA RELEASE - Sunday 4 July 2004

The first step in any truth recovery process must be acknowledgement. Everyone who has engaged in the conflict – including Governments – should acknowledge responsibility for their actions. Only when all organisations and institutions acknowledge responsibility can Northern Ireland move towards a sustainable peace. This call is made by Professor Roy McClelland, Chairman of Healing Through Remembering, a diverse group of individuals who for three years have been investigating ways of dealing with the past.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence this morning Professor McClelland said: “We are heartened by the growing debate in this area but feel that a lot of work needs to be done and we are adamant that Acknowledgment — particularly by the governments — should be the starting point for any process of Truth recovery”. “Given the current Government initiatives to find a solution for dealing with the past it is important that the opinions of those affected by the conflict are taken into consideration”, continued Professor McClelland.

And as the current debate becomes focussed on story-telling and truth commissions, Healing Though Remembering points to the need for a number of parallel but separate methods for dealing with the past – as outlined in their report of 2002.Healing Through Remembering today said that there is no single treatment for the healing process in Northern Ireland – processes of remembering, reflecting, informing and educating must be sustained for another generation at least. Practical recommendations from Healing Through Remembering include:

* Acknowledgement
* A storytelling process
* Establishing a day of reflection
* Permanent Living Memorial Museum
* A network of commemoration and remembering projects

Professor McClelland explained the current work of the organisation: “Healing Through Remembering is now expanding its membership in order to arrange a number of events in the autumn which will address the recommendations in more detail. These will include conferences and seminars drawing on local and international experiences. The aim of these events will be to draw together the people working on each issue in order to define the most appropriate methods of implementation – including timescale, scope, and who should – or should not – be managing each process.”

Healing Through Remembering feel that these events are the best way to progress the issue of dealing with the past – through considered and informed discussion open to all. Speaking from his experience in South Africa, Brandon Hamber, consultant to the project explained: “Each country needs to create a solution that is appropriate in that place and at that time. What I find so exciting about Healing Through Remembering is that it gives the opportunity to find the resolution to all of the people involved and affected by the conflict, rather than one being imposed from above. In particular the unique aspects in this report are the holistic nature of the package of recommendations and the request for acknowledgement as a first step in the truth recovery process. In my view this approach would be breaking new international ground.”

For more information on the Healing Through Remembering project and to download the full report click here, or phone: +44 (0)28 9073 9601.