Sites of Conscience Regional Networks

To inspire coordinated citizen engagement on local human rights issues, the Coalition has developed constellations of Sites of Conscience, called Regional Networks. Led by Accredited Sites of Conscience, Regional Networks coordinate efforts to remember common histories and to address their legacies today. Through joint projects, workshops, one-on-one consultations, and other activities, Regional Networks build the capacity of emerging initiatives in each region and strengthen the collective memory of past struggles for human rights.

Members of the Regional Networks can access the International Coalition’s Online Resource Center, an online forum where registered members can participate in discussion and access all the resources of the Coalition. ( Free registration required.)

Read about the latest activities of the networks here.

African Sites of Conscience: Using Histories of Citizen Action to Develop Post-Colonial and Post-Conflict Democracies
This network works with sites remembering the past in the context of Southern, East-Central, and West African nations experiencing post-colonial and post-conflict transitions. Network members collaborate to present historical models of citizen participation in democratic change and use these histories to inspire dialogue and participation in future change.

Asian Sites of Conscience: Promoting Cultures of Peace and Pluralism in the Wake of Ethnic and Religious Conflict
The Asian Regional Network brings together sites remembering both conflict and peace to promote values of ethnic and religious pluralism and democracy, especially among young people. Across Asia, fragile democracies are plagued by waves of violence and instability related to deep-rooted religious and ethnic tensions, which disrupt democratic processes and open the door for oppressive regimes that could take advantage of growing religious fundamentalism. Led by the Liberation War Museum, Asian Sites of Conscience open dialogue on human rights and democracy and inspire young people to become actively engaged in promoting those values.

European Sites of Conscience Network: Promoting Cultures of Tolerance and Democratic Values by Addressing Xenophobia and Exclusion
This network formed by 17 historic sites and museums in Europe seek to open dialogue on issues of discrimination, migration, and xenophobia in Europe today. Network works to develop youth programs that use the sites’ unique histories to promote tolerance, democratic processes, and a European citizenship based in human rights. These youth programs will provide new spaces for long-time European citizens and newcomers alike to come together and explore how Europeans have confronted xenophobia and difference in the past – and how they might do so today.

Immigration Sites of Conscience Network: Stimulating Conversation on Immigration and Related Issues
This network of 14 immigration history museums across the United States and Europe came together in August 2008 to foster a new national and international conversation on immigration today. Network collaborate to use historical perspective and heritage to open new centers for education and dialogue on today’s immigration issues in order to: stimulate on-going local and national conversations on immigration and its related issues; promote humanitarian and democratic values; and treat all audiences as stakeholders in the immigration dialogue. Network members are developing new public dialogues on community immigration issues at each of their sites; conducting training in contemporary immigration issues and dialogue programs for front-line staff; and launching a US national media campaign.

Latin American Sites of Conscience: Promoting Debate through the Construction of Memory of the Recent Past
Led by Memoria Abierta, this network builds the capacity of sites remembering periods of violent internal conflicts and state terrorism in Latin America, to preserve the memory of what happened during these dictatorships and the consequences of these dictatorships on their societies; to use that memory to influence political culture; and to work with young people to prevent all forms of authoritarianism in future generations.

Middle East and North Africa Sites of Conscience
Launched in January 2012 as the ‘Arab Spring’ highlighted the need for public memory initiatives, this network emphasizes the importance of documentation and publicly accessible archives to reflect diverse histories beyond the “official” state narrative. The network addresses issues of reparations, identity, economic disparity, corruption, torture, and detention to build on the past in creating future cultures of human rights for these societies in transition.

Russian Sites of Conscience: Building an Anti-Totalitarian Culture
Led by the Gulag Museum at Perm-36, this network works with museums and historic sites in Russia to raise public awareness of the history and consequences of totalitarianism, and actively engage citizens in addressing threats to Russian democracy today.

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