Power of Remembrance – Work with Political Parties

The overall aim of the project is to initiate a process of reflection where political parties reflect on their remembrance of past violent conflicts and to increase mutual respect for different narratives of the past. The first step of the project was a study conducted by Dr. Mara Albrecht (University of Erfurt, Germany) and Dr. Bassel Akar (Center for Applied Research in Education, Notre Dame University - Louaize, Lebanon) which investigated the use of memory by political parties in Lebanon in the political and educational domains in an attempt to draw conclusions on the validity and feasibility of dialogue regarding the interpretation of violent and contested historical events. The study was presented on a public seminar at the Notre Dame University in November 2016 followed by a round table discussion with members of civil society organizations on possible entry points to work with political parties to create space for mutual respect for multiple narratives on past and present violence. As a result of the discussions a 1-day conference is planned in September 2017, which will be followed by a series of workshops. The objective is to reflect on the cultures of remembrance of political parties and collective memory with leaders from youth organizations of different political parties.