As Hafıza Merkezi, we are organizing an online workshop to discuss different experiences and approaches on memorializing conflict-related violations of children and youth rights.
The workshop will take place on 22 December 2022 Thursday from 15.00 to 18.00 (GMT+3). English-Turkish simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
Conflict-related violations affecting youth and children’s rights have particularly serious implications for justice and democracy. In an increasing number of countries, conflicts blur the distinction between civilians and military actors and result in multiple violations of the rights of children and young people.
Giving a voice to the victims, survivors and their communities, understanding their needs and expectations and memorializing their experiences are essential components of the struggle for justice and the reconciliation processes in conflict-affected geographies. Actively involving children and youth in these processes raises specific challenges, in relation with the vulnerability and particular needs of these categories, as well as the specific legal framework which apply to them in terms of consent giving, visibility and sharing of information. In the perspective of restorative justice, innovative approaches to violations of children and youth’s rights not only develop adequate responses to these methodological challenges, but also open spaces for experience-sharing, memorialization and solidarity where victims and survivors are recognized as actors of the search for truth and justice.
Despite the specificity of each context, sharing experiences from different conflict-affected regions in the areas of memorialization and restorative justice is important to understand and address the methodological and political challenges faced by these initiatives. Gathering activists and practitioners from different countries, the objectives of this online workshop are to;
15.00-15.10 — Introduction
15.10-15.45 — Documentation and Memorialization: Aims, Methods and Challenges
15.45-15.55 — Break
15.55-18.00 — The Role of Children and Youth in Memory Work
---
* This workshop is organized in the framework of the Strengthening Advocacy for Peace in Turkey project, conducted by Hafıza Merkezi with the support of the Olof Palme International Center.
** The illustration we use in the visual field is taken from the design made by artist Hlasja Habjan for The Greats project.