Annual Conference of the Historical Dialogues, Justice, and Memory Network

Prevention Activism:
Advancing Historical Dialogue In Post-Conflict Settings

December 12-14, 2019
Columbia University, New York City

Prevention activism—that is, the effort to record, acknowledge, address and redress the violent past— seeks to counter nationalist myths and identities that are central ingredients of ethnic and political violence. Its goal is to deny the propensity for the future escalation of violence by acknowledging the role that the misuse of history has played in dividing societies. In other words, by enhancing public discussions about the past, prevention activism has become a central part of the efforts in post-conflict societies, as well as in democratic societies, to come to terms with their violent past.

This conference seeks to explore activities that can be defined as “prevention activism”, and their academic analysis. What forms do projects and initiatives take to address past violence, and what impact have they had? These projects often range from civil society initiatives, to government-instated commissions, to the work of international bodies. We are particularly interested in the study of how a specific body has worked to address past violence. Other topics include evaluating the success and failures of such initiatives; exploring the challenges faced by prevention activism; understanding the ways in which pressures, from funding resources to political developments, affect, suppress or inform activism.

Prevention activism and the ways in which it has been implemented on the ground inspired the Mapping Historical Dialogue Project (http://historicaldialogues.org/mhdp/).

The Historical Dialogues, Justice and Memory Network (http://historicaldialogues.org/), which is coordinated by an international Steering Committee, the Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability (AHDA) at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, will hold its annual conference on December 12-14, 2019 at the Columbia University in New York City, USA.

The full schedule and conference program will be posted here.