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Sept/Oct 2004 |
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CONTENTS:
Passing on the Passion: Promoting tolerance and democracy to youth across Bangladesh
New Tactics in Human Rights International Symposium, Ankara, Turkey
Reflections of Community: Grand Rapids, USA
Using the Past to Shape the Future: Chicago, USA
Argentinean delegation to America visits Sites of Conscience
Building Links Across the Global South, Memphis, USA
New Tactics in Human Rights Workbook and Notebook featuring Sites of Conscience
Slave Route: Africa, Americas/Carribean and Europe
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Passing on the Passion: Promoting tolerance and democracy to youth across Bangladesh
How can a Site of Conscience use the history of popular resistance to inspire a new generation who did not experience it? The Liberation War Museum is struggling to address politically sensitive ideas of pluralism and democracy in a predominantly Muslim country, despite continual grenade and bomb attacks on progressive and cultural groups across the nation over the past 5 years.
While the "global war on terrorism" has alienated Muslims, including those committed to democratic values and tolerance, religious extremist forces in Bangladesh are actively appealing to younger generations who did not experience the pain of the Liberation War, and may not understand the concepts of democracy, secularism and nationalism behind it. One striking response to the growing confusion and level of intolerance in the country has been the Museum's innovative Reach Out Program/Mobile Museum.
In order to make programs and dialogue more accessible and meaningful to students outside the capital city, the Liberation War Museum launched the "Peace and Human Rights Education in the Light of Liberation War History" project as part of the Mobile Museum in July 2004. The Mobile Museum consists of a van which travels across the country visiting schools in rural areas, displaying two separate exhibits. One exhibit uses cartoon imagery to introduce youth to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, while the "If the World Were a Village" exhibit consists of paintings by leading artists that review the theme of tolerance in a pluralist society. After viewing the exhibits, the Museum meets with teachers and students to provide them guidelines on how to conduct their own investigation of the country's struggles for human rights in the form of an oral history project.
Students interview senior family members or neighbours and record their stories of human right abuses in the name of religion during the 1971 Liberation War (e.g. rape of women, torture of religious minorities and secular forces, genocide). Essays and photos from the interviews are sent to the Museum to be archived, some of which are published in the Liberation War Museum's quarterly wall magazine and sent to the schools for posting. The Mobile Museum has been stationed on 20 school premises in northeast part of Bangladesh, which over 20,000 students from 68 schools have attended so far. The bus aims to visit schools across the entire nation, with future plans to introduce a youth-organized local history week at the beginning of December.
To find out more about the projects the Liberation War Museum is undertaking, visit
http://www.sitesofconscience.org/eng/lib_war.htm
or contact Mukti@citechco.net
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New Tactics in Human Rights Symposium, Ankara, Turkey
(September 28-October 2, 2004)
Over 400 human rights workers from more than 80 different nations came together in Ankara, Turkey to share innovative tactics to promote human rights and democracy. The
District Six Museum,
Liberation War Museum, and
Coalition Secretariat trained leaders from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kenya, the Philippines, Turkey and other regions on how they could use sites of memory to develop lasting cultures of human rights.
Liz Sevcenko, VP of Interpretation at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Director of the Coalition, described the Tenement Museum's efforts to foster dialogue on difficult issues. Donald Parenzee, Curator of Exhibitions at District Six Museum, presented the Museum's floor map of the lost neighbourhood, which invites visitors to identify sites of importance to them and paved the foundation for future land claims. Sara Zaker, Trustee of the Liberation War Museum, described the Museum's project to inspire activism in youth through helping young people conduct oral histories with adults who participated in the Liberation movement, so that youth discover different ways people can participate in making change.
The session inspired new ideas on general approaches and specific projects, such as how sites of conscience could be developed in a way that contributes to strengthening peace without fueling more discord in recent post-conflict societies; how sites of conscience can instill the lessons of the past in a new generation; how to develop a national network of sites of conscience in Turkey; and how to map sites of torture in the Philippines. A full report of the session can be obtained by contacting hkarst@tenement.org
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Reflections of Community: Grand Rapids, USA
(October 20-22, 2004)
Join the Association of Midwest Museums and the Michigan Museums Association for their Joint Annual Conference on how museums can serve as vital resources in their communities. Liz Sevcenko, Director of the Coalition and VP of Interpretation at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, will be delivering this year's opening keynote speech and conducting a workshop on making museums centers for civic dialogue. Registration forms and additional information can be found at http://www.midwestmuseums.org
Using the Past to Shape the Future: Addressing Civic Issues at Historic Sites, Museums and Cultural Centers, Chicago, USA
(November 18-19, 2004)
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: October 30, 2004
The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, in conjunction with the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, is organizing a national conference to explore how museums, historic sites, and historical societies can serve as our new town halls, centers for dialogue on pressing social issues. The conference will feature presentations from historic sites around the world, including a keynote address by Memoria Abierta, on successful strategies for promoting dialogue on difficult topics. Interactive workshops will model a variety of dialogue techniques and facilitate brainstorming among participants. To view the conference program, visit http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/2004conference/Programtentativeweb.pdf. To qualify for discounted registration, all registration forms must be postmarked before October 30, 2004 and can be downloaded from http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/2004conference/registrationwebsite.pdf
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Argentinean delegation to America visits Sites of Conscience
(September 19-23, 2004)
During a recent trip to the US, Argentine First Lady and Senator Cristina Kirchner, Patricia Tappatá de Valdez, board member of the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS)and Director of Memoria Abierta, and Ernesto Seman from the Argentine Consulate in New York City visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. They also met with Marie Rust, Director of the National Park Service Northeast Region, to gain first-hand perspective on how sites of conscience use the history and power of place to serve as active centers for civic engagement on difficult and controversial issues surrounding the immigrant experience in America. The delegation shared preliminary ideas for a Museum of Memory on the site of the former Navy Mechanics School in Buenos Aires, soliciting ideas for exhibit techniques and programs that could be used in order to preserve the memory of horrific events which occurred during the period of state terrorism and its effects throughout Argentinean society as a method of promoting democratic practices and tolerance. For updates on the efforts towards the development of the Museum of Memory, visit http://www.memoriaabierta.org.ar/memoria/memoria.php
Building Links Across the Global South: Southern Strategies for Human Rights, Memphis, USA
(December 10-12, 2004)
Located in Memphis, Tennessee, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his life supporting the human rights of sanitation workers and other poor people, this year's Southern Human Rights Organizers Network's Bi-Annual Conference will bring together human rights organizers, social justice activists, students, youth, faith leaders, workers and union leaders for a weekend of inspiring discussion on common issues, ranging from slave plantation workplaces and hate crimes against minority communities to the global lock-out of the working poor. The conference will serve to strengthen the capacity of organizations in the Deep South by enabling them to expand their programmatic work beyond civil rights and social justice campaigns to more effectively address international human rights issues across the region. The importance of building a human rights movement in the South is more critical than ever in this region where slavery was born and still exists today; workers do back-breaking work for low wages; and racism, sexism and homophobia are alive and well.
Since the reality of globalization has inextricably linked the US southern human rights struggle with struggles in other parts of the world, the conference will also feature panel speakers from Brazil, Haiti, Colombia and Canada, who will share experiences of their countries' human rights movements. The power of place will come into play as the National Civil Rights Museum, the site of Dr. King's assassination, will host a spoken word event with local and national artists. Other supporting organizations include Amnesty International USA Southern Regional Office, the Mississippi Worker's Union for Human Rights, and many more. Visit http://www.shroc.org/registration2.html for upcoming conference details and online registration. The special Youth Human Rights Summit is available by pre-registration only, so sign up now!
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New Tactics in Human Rights Workbook and Notebook featuring Sites of Conscience
(October 20-22, 2004)
Memoria Abierta, District Six Museum and the Coalition are now featured in the third edition of the New Tactics in Human Rights Workbook. A useful resource for human rights practitioners and activists around the globe, this 200-page book includes 100 accounts of how people around the world have addressed human rights concerns, and features practical worksheets and a theoretical discussion of tactical and strategic thinking. The Workbook is now available for download or order from http://www.newtactics.org/main.php/ToolsforAction/TheNewTacticsWorkbook"
New Tactics has also published and distributed a 20 page notebook on the work of all Coalition member sites. Read how Power of Place: How Historic Sites Can Engage Citizens in Human Rights Issues outlines strategies employed by Coalition Member sites and thoughts on how others might apply the same tactics. http://www.newtactics.org/main.php/ThePowerofPlace
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Slave Route: Africa, Americas/Caribbean, and Europe
In celebration of the bicentenary of the declaration of Haiti as the first Black Republic in the world and the earliest country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery completely, the United Nations has designated 2004 as the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition. The history of millions of men, women and children who were brought from Africa to the Americas through the triangular trade is remembered alongside the celebration of the principles of liberty, equality, and individual rights, with a series of artistic, cultural and educational projects, activities and events as part of a worldwide campaign promoted by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO).
Within the scope of the UNESCO Slave Route Project and in co-operation with the World Tourism Organization (WTO), African tourism and culture ministries, and the Organization for African Unity (OAU), efforts are underway to identify, restore and promote sites, buildings and localities linked to the slave trade and slavery in Africa and the Caribbean, including possible museum development in Angola, Benin, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mauritius, Senegal, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania and the Virgin Islands.
An exciting extension of this cultural tourism project is the plan to establish tourist routes linking historic sites associated with the slave trade between Europe, the Americas and West Africa, including sites such as Gorée Island (Senegal); Elmina Castle (Ghana); Feydeau Island and slave quarters of 18th century Nantes (France); and the plantations of Christiansted and Fredriksted in St Croix, Virgin Islands (US). The Slave Route Project has the potential to catalyze other related activities, such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade Education Project's upcoming international youth forum which will explore the causes and consequences of slavery, to celebrate the African diaspora and prepare school campaigns against racism and discrimination. Historic sites in the Slave Route Project could provide powerful venues for fostering intercultural dialogue, developing educational approaches and creating greater understanding of modern forms and issues surrounding slavery today.
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