Healing Through Remembering

Template:Db-notability [Healing Through Remembering (HTR) is an extensive cross-community project made up of a diverse range of individual members with different political perspectives and social experiences.][1][2]

They come from across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland and have been meeting over the past number of years to focus on the issue of how to deal with the past relating to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland.

Background

In March 2000 the All Truth is Bitter Report was launched. It documented the visit of Dr. Alex Boraine to Northern Ireland in February 1999 and recommended wide-ranging discussion to explore and debate ways of examining the past and processes of remembering so as to build a better future.

A number of individuals were invited by the authors of All Truth is Bitter to form a Board. After much discussion, in June 2001 a diverse group of individuals agreed to become the Healing Through Remembering Project Board and carry forward the work of the project.

Public Consultation

HTR carried out an extensive consultation in 2002 which asked individuals, organisations and communities “How should people remember the events connected with the conflict in and about Northern Ireland and in so doing, individually and collectively contribute to the healing of the wounds of society?

Healing Through Remembering Report 2002

In June 2002 HTR published the findings of the consultation in the form of the Healing Through Remembering Report. This report made six recommendations:

a collective storytelling and archiving process, a day of reflection, a network of commemoration and remembering projects, a living memorial museum, acknowledgement leading to the possibility of truth recovery and a Healing Through Remembering Initiative. Healing Through Remembering Initiative The Healing Through Remembering Initiative is a limited company with charitable status and has been in operation since October 2003. The organisation operates through independent funding which has been sourced internationally.

The organisation has established five Sub Groups to engage in dialogue and discussion and carry out research in order to fully examine the recommendations of the 2002 Report.

Storytelling Sub Group

The group is developing the parameters for research into the impact of Storytelling. The Storytelling Sub Group has carried out and published an audit of storytelling initiatives related to the conflict, hosted a one-day conference on the theme of “Storytelling as the Vehicle?” and published a report of the conference.

The Sub Group is currently working on producing a Good Practice Guide to Storytelling incorporating the values, definitions and core principles of storytelling.

Day of Reflection Sub Group

A full range of materials to help raise awareness of the Day of Private Reflection and aid reflection on the Day have been produced and are available to order free of charge from HTR or via www.dayofreflection.com

Groups and individuals are also encouraged to develop their own materials and resources. The Day of Reflection Sub Group carried out extensive research on international experiences of days of remembrance before proceeding with plans for an initial Day of Private Reflection on 21 June 2007.

Full details about the Day and how you and/or your organisation can participate in the Day can be found on the website.

Organisations, groups and individuals who welcome the initiative can also sign-up on the website.

A full evaluation of this initial Day of Private Reflection will be carried out. This evaluation will inform the decision on whether or not future days of reflection should be held and if so how.

Living Memorial Museum Sub Group

The form of the Living Memorial Museum is still under discussion. The Living Memorial Museum Sub Group has commissioned an extensive audit of artefacts relating to the conflict which are held in existing archives and personal collections.

Dr. Kris Brown is conducting the audit which is being carried out through a joint Fellowship post at QUB.

To date Kris has catalogues thousands of items held in institutions and museums and his focus is now on cataloguing private collections. Kris can be contacted by tel: +44 (0)28 9097 3389 or email: [email protected] if you have a private collection you think he may be interested in.

The group has also conducted an Open Call for Ideas[3] on what form a Living Memorial Museum to the conflict could take. A wide range of submissions were received and plans are underway for displaying them and generating further ideas.

Commemoration Sub Group

The Commemoration Sub Group is currently examining the issues relating to commemoration and commissioned research on the subject to inform their thinking on possible ways forward.

The research considered: what is commemoration and what is its role in societies emerging from conflict?

A roundtable event on similar issues was held in January 2007. The Sub Group is currently finalising its strategic plan and considering future directions for the group.

Truth Recovery & Acknowledgement Sub Group

The Sub Group is continuing to host partnership events with interested organisations and groups on both the report and the issue of truth recovery. The Truth Recovery and Acknowledgement Sub Group has undertaken two large pieces of work to date. The first, a scoping study on the current positions of key organisations, institutions and parties relating to acknowledgement of their role in the conflict was used to inform a discussion paper and proposal on what form acknowledgement might take. The paper, Acknowledgement and its Role in Preventing Future Violence, was published in October 2006.

The second piece of research developed by the group was a document on possible options for truth recovery. The document, Making Peace with the Past: Options for truth recovery regarding the conflict in and about Northern Ireland, was launched on 31 October 2006. Since the publication of the report the Sub Group has hosted a series of open meetings on the issue of truth recovery across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. These open meetings concluded at the end of April.

Consultants Database

Details of any research being commissioned by Healing Through Remembering on behalf of the Sub Groups is circulated to all researchers and facilitators who are listed on the Healing Through Remembering Consultants Database.

To receive an application for the database please contact the HTR office or email:

[email protected]

Membership

Members of Healing Through Remembering are kept informed of the work of the organisation, are invited to participate in seminars, talks and other events and have voting rights at the AGM.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Healing Through Remembering please contact the office for further information and a membership application pack.

Reports Copies of reports produced and published by Healing Through Remembering are available to download from the HTR website: www.healingthroughremembering.org[4]

Alternatively hard copies can be ordered free of charge from the HTR Office.

More information Further details on the work of Healing Through Remembering and its five Sub Groups can be found on the HTR website.

The site also contains a forum for discussion relevant topics and issues. Board of Directors 2006/2007 The Board of Healing Through Remembering is elected annually by the members of the organisation at the AGM.

The members of the current Board are:

Brandon Hamber(Chairman) Oliver Wilkinson (Honorary Secretary) Dawn Purvis MLA(Honorary Treasurer) Sean Coll (Chair Day of Reflection) Claire Hackett (Chair Storytelling) Alan McBride (Chair Living Memorial Museum) Alan Wardle (Chair Truth Recovery & Acknowledgement) Geraldine Smyth (Chair Commemoration) Martin Snoddon

HTR Staff

Kate Turner – Project Director Jame Grant - Finance Officer Claire Smyth - Administrative Assistant