Call for participants: RAN VoT Working Group Younger generations, older tragedies: how can commemoration support PVE?, Spain 26-27 September 2023

We are looking for participants that are interested in joining the upcoming meeting of the RAN Victims/Survivors of Terrorism Working Group: ‘Younger generations, older tragedies: how can commemoration support PVE?’

Background and aim of the meeting

The value of coming to terms with the past to prevent future violence is generally acknowledged, but how do we make sure that the memory of attacks, or longer periods of violence, that occurred many years ago stays alive? Society’s memory of attacks or periods of violence – such as the Irish Troubles or the Spanish history with ETA which happened several decades ago – slowly fades away, and fewer and fewer victims/survivors are willing and able to share their story. How can lessons from these atrocities be drawn when an ever-smaller part of society can vividly remember what happened?

Young people, in particular, might feel detached from the suffering and experience of violence that occurred in a period of time they have not (consciously) lived in. Notwithstanding, youth is a key actor in preventing and countering violent extremism: young people are generally more vulnerable to recruitment attempts as they find themselves at the intersection of multiple grievances and challenges.

Involving youth in PVE initiatives can, thus, prevent their potential engagement with radicalisation processes. In addition, having young people defining and designing preventative measures might re-enforce the impact of PVE efforts as they are the best positioned to talk to their peers.

The perspective of young people who have not directly lived through atrocities can contribute to the emergence of new understandings and meanings, to ensure that collective memory is comprehensive and inclusive. In this sense, educational policies should encourage critical thinking and equip students with the skills to distinguish between history (a set of events) and memory (interpretations of these events). Inspiration can be drawn from memorialisation of the Holocaust, WWII and dictatorship periods in many European countries.

During the meeting, participants will share their experiences, good practices, and challenges in ensuring continued commemoration among youth with a PVE aim. The meeting will build on previous RAN meetings and papers, such as the RAN Thematic event on ‘Current challenges and solutions related to working with youth on P/CVE’ (2022), the RAN Y&E WG meeting on ‘Education and youth work: towards effective collaboration,’ and the RAN VoT WG meeting (2021) ‘Incorporating memorial needs of victims and survivors in P/CVE efforts’.

Target group

We are looking for the following types of participants:

• Victims/survivors of terrorism;
• Representatives of victim organisations;
• Educators and teachers working with youth on commemoration and/or PVE;
• CSOs, NGOs, and associations working on memorial activism for PVE.

Deadline and practical information

If you are interested in participating at this meeting, please fill out the form by clicking here. Please answer the questions and submit all relevant information no later than 18 August.

We will invite participants based on this information. Please keep in mind that we only have a limited number of places available for this meeting to foster exchanges, so participation is not guaranteed. Moreover, participants are required to attend both days of the meeting.

Travel and accommodation are arranged and covered by RAN, and the meeting will be held in English.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact f [dot] cantersradaradvies [dot] nl (Fenna Canters) and elena [dot] dalsantoviolence-pervention-network [dot] de (Elena Dal Santo).