Professor Brandon Hamber
Director of INCORE
Cordially invites you to the next seminar in the
Accounts of the Conflict Seminar Series
by
Liz Silkes
entitled
'Archive Development and Civic Engagement at Sites of Conscience'

At 12.00 p.m. on Wednesday 16 April 2014
In the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), 2 Titanic Boulevard, Belfast BT3 9HQ
A light lunch will be served after the seminar at 1.00p.m

RSVP by 9 April 2014 2014 to Janet Farren, JE.Farren@ulster.ac.uk or tel 028 7167 5575

The need to remember often competes with the equally strong pressure to forget. Even with the best of intentions, such as to promote reconciliation after deeply divisive events by "turning the page", erasing the past can prevent new generations from learning critical lessons while forever compromising opportunities to build a peaceful future. Without safe spaces to remember and preserve memories, the stories of elderly survivors of atrocity can vanish when they pass away; societies that have overcome conflicts may never seek justice for fear of re-opening old wounds; and the families of the disappeared may never find answers. But these memories belong to us all. Their stories are our stories and their history is our history. This is why the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience exists. Sites of Conscience use the lessons of history to spark conscience in people all around the world so that they can engage in building societies based on justice and peace. This seminar will present an overview of how Sites of Conscience across the globe emphasize the importance of documentation and publicly accessible archives in order to reflect diverse histories beyond the "official" narrative, enabling history and conflicting narratives to become a part of the public domain and the foundation of a peaceful future.

Liz Silkes is currently Executive Director, International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. She has over 20 years' experience in non-profit leadership and development, with a particular expertise in guiding the strategic growth of dynamic international organizations. Before joining the Coalition, she served as CEO of Cinereach, a foundation supporting media projects focused on social change, and as Executive Director of FilmAid International, a humanitarian relief organization using film and video to address the needs of refugees and other displaced communities. Prior to working with FilmAid, she led the major gifts program at Amnesty International USA to record growth while advocating for human rights in the US and abroad. She also founded a consulting company dedicated to the design and implementation of innovative fundraising programs for emerging international NGOs. Liz's extensive experience with community-based film and media projects gives her a unique perspective on the power of the personal story in the struggle for human rights. She currently serves on the board of ICOM-US, the U.S. National Committee of the International Council of Museums, and is a member of the Law Advisory Council for the Fetzer Institute.

Accounts of the Conflict will create an on-line digital archive which will offer long-term storage and preservation of a range of personal accounts relating to life in Northern Ireland and the border region during the period of the conflict.

Individuals, groups and organisations will be able to deposit digital copies of personal accounts with the new archive.

The Accounts of the Conflict project is a 2 year project funded by the European Union's PEACE III programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

The project will be delivered by INCORE (International Conflict Research Institute), based at the University of Ulster. Work on the project commenced in January 2013 and will be completed in December 2014.