Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DisTerrMem (Memory Across Borders: Dealing with the Legacy of Disputed Territories)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2019-02-01 do 2023-01-31
DisTerrMem (Memory Across Borders) brings together an international and interdisciplinary team to explore how competing memories of disputed territories can be best managed. Working across three key regions - Eastern Europe, South Asia and the South Caucasus - the seven partners from Poland, Armenia, Lithuania, te UK and Pakistan explore the roles of four key actors - civil society, cultural practitioners, nation states and regional organisations - in managing such memories.
Dealing with the tensions associated with disputed territory has been a pressing challenge both within the EU and globally. Developing efficient models and methodologies for the management of competing memories is particulalry crucial in areas of ongoing or recently reignited conflcits. Over the last decades, cosmopolitan approaches advocating 'shared' narratives in areas of longstanding conficts have often failed since a consensus about disputed territories has proven too difficult to achieve. In recent years, civil society groups have increasingly challenged dominant representations of the national community, seeking to establish multiple stories and alternative commemorative practices.
DisTerrMem will develop a new multi-level approach for the management of competing memories in non-conflictual to bield peace. It brings together interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral expertise to move the debate beyond the European frame and achieve the following objectives:
1. To develop an innovative theoretical and methodological framework for the multi-level analysis of the management of competing memories of disputed territory;
2. To identify and promote examples of best practice at multiple levels, which will be relevant to policymakers, civil society organizations and cultural practitioners in range of contexts.
To achieve the scientific objectives, the project will undertake joint research activities through a structured programme of knowledge transfer and co-creation, involving individual mobility of researchers between Armenia, Pakistan, Poland, and the United Kingdom, as well as between the academic and non-academic beneficiaries. The specific knowledge exchange objectives are:
3. To strengthen and enhance the cooperation and transfer of knowledge within the network of international and inter-sectoral institutions in the research partnership, through the development of a programme of knowledge exchange activities;
4. To bring together complementary expertise and knowledge through mobility of staff, in order to boost research capacity among participating organisations, progressing understanding of mechanisms for the management of competing memories of disputed territories;
5. To improve the skills sets and career opportunities of participating staff members;
6. To enhance partners’ awareness of the research cultures in different countries and different sectors;
7. To develop a portfolio of impact activities, to disseminate methods, to facilitate the collaborative creation of theoretically and methodologically innovative research outputs, and make these widely available for a range of relevant audiences.range of relevant audiences.
Dealing with the tensions associated with disputed territory has been a pressing challenge both within the EU and globally. Developing efficient models and methodologies for the management of competing memories is particulalry crucial in areas of ongoing or recently reignited conflcits. Over the last decades, cosmopolitan approaches advocating 'shared' narratives in areas of longstanding conficts have often failed since a consensus about disputed territories has proven too difficult to achieve. In recent years, civil society groups have increasingly challenged dominant representations of the national community, seeking to establish multiple stories and alternative commemorative practices.
DisTerrMem will develop a new multi-level approach for the management of competing memories in non-conflictual to bield peace. It brings together interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral expertise to move the debate beyond the European frame and achieve the following objectives:
1. To develop an innovative theoretical and methodological framework for the multi-level analysis of the management of competing memories of disputed territory;
2. To identify and promote examples of best practice at multiple levels, which will be relevant to policymakers, civil society organizations and cultural practitioners in range of contexts.
To achieve the scientific objectives, the project will undertake joint research activities through a structured programme of knowledge transfer and co-creation, involving individual mobility of researchers between Armenia, Pakistan, Poland, and the United Kingdom, as well as between the academic and non-academic beneficiaries. The specific knowledge exchange objectives are:
3. To strengthen and enhance the cooperation and transfer of knowledge within the network of international and inter-sectoral institutions in the research partnership, through the development of a programme of knowledge exchange activities;
4. To bring together complementary expertise and knowledge through mobility of staff, in order to boost research capacity among participating organisations, progressing understanding of mechanisms for the management of competing memories of disputed territories;
5. To improve the skills sets and career opportunities of participating staff members;
6. To enhance partners’ awareness of the research cultures in different countries and different sectors;
7. To develop a portfolio of impact activities, to disseminate methods, to facilitate the collaborative creation of theoretically and methodologically innovative research outputs, and make these widely available for a range of relevant audiences.range of relevant audiences.
Over the course of the DisTerrMem project (year1- 2019 and year 2- 2022), substantial progress was made, and significant results have been achieved including:
- Setting up an international network of academics and practitioner and cementing this through several staff exchanges.
- Development of a critical understanding of the agonistic memory framework and its ptential for peace keeping across geographical, sector and disciplinary boundaries, captured in a state of the art literature review.
- Holding two internal conferences which have progressed the project’s work and led to an interchange of knowledge and experience. This has resulted in the development of an innovative theoretical and methodological framework applying the principles of agonism to promote a better management of competing memories.
- Holding two summer schools offering training sessions for project members and early career researchers in research methods aligned with the agonistic approach to memory drawing lessons from best practices shared by project participants from academia, civil society and cultural practice.
- Creating a presence for the project through a dedicated website and social media activity and through holding two stakeholder engagementworkshops. This has led increasingly to contacts with other relevant projects, policy makers, practitioners, NGOs, heritage professionals and artists and identifying localities and issues for further action by the project. This has established a strong base for the next stages of the project.
- Producing a set of 8 Case Studies that provide an in-depth understanding from the implementation of agonostic methodology in different contexts comparing the challenges and promises of this perspective in different countries.
Producing practical recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners for employing the agonistic memory framework.
The development of a robust system of project management which has complemented network activities to establish a strong foundation for the project.
The involvement of young researchers in the programme whose careers have greatly benefitted from the wider understandings and skills that they have acquired through these exchange.
- Setting up an international network of academics and practitioner and cementing this through several staff exchanges.
- Development of a critical understanding of the agonistic memory framework and its ptential for peace keeping across geographical, sector and disciplinary boundaries, captured in a state of the art literature review.
- Holding two internal conferences which have progressed the project’s work and led to an interchange of knowledge and experience. This has resulted in the development of an innovative theoretical and methodological framework applying the principles of agonism to promote a better management of competing memories.
- Holding two summer schools offering training sessions for project members and early career researchers in research methods aligned with the agonistic approach to memory drawing lessons from best practices shared by project participants from academia, civil society and cultural practice.
- Creating a presence for the project through a dedicated website and social media activity and through holding two stakeholder engagementworkshops. This has led increasingly to contacts with other relevant projects, policy makers, practitioners, NGOs, heritage professionals and artists and identifying localities and issues for further action by the project. This has established a strong base for the next stages of the project.
- Producing a set of 8 Case Studies that provide an in-depth understanding from the implementation of agonostic methodology in different contexts comparing the challenges and promises of this perspective in different countries.
Producing practical recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners for employing the agonistic memory framework.
The development of a robust system of project management which has complemented network activities to establish a strong foundation for the project.
The involvement of young researchers in the programme whose careers have greatly benefitted from the wider understandings and skills that they have acquired through these exchange.
The project has achieved progress beyond the state of the art;
- By bringing together researchers and practitioners from three key regions (Europe, South Asia and the South Caucasus) to jointly reach new understandings of and interventions in managing competing memories presented in a state of the art literature review which is one of the first interdisciplinary critical understandings of the possibilities and limitations of the agonistic framework in addressing the memories of disputed territories.
- By developing and new ways of managing the memories of disputed territories and by trialing these in 8 co-authored case studies in contrasting localities.
- By capturing an innovative model for understanding the successful management of competing memories in non-conflictual ways in the context of peace-building for use by researchers and practitioners.
The project will build a memory management framework and greater understandings of how this can be employed to promote peace-keeping in a variety of contexts. From these experiences detailed policy guidelines and policy briefings will be developed. The later stages will also see wide dissemination of the results to a variety of audiences including through policy briefings, the website, case study reports articles in academic journals and a collectively edited book.
DisTerrMem will also empower civil society actors, cultural practitioners, nation states and regional organizations to develop non-antagonistic versions of memory to promote the cessation of armed conflicts Further impact will include an increase in the skills and knowledge of participants as a result of the project activities and the creation of an international network which will be sustained during the rest of the project and built on by future collaborations and exchanges once the project has ended.
- By bringing together researchers and practitioners from three key regions (Europe, South Asia and the South Caucasus) to jointly reach new understandings of and interventions in managing competing memories presented in a state of the art literature review which is one of the first interdisciplinary critical understandings of the possibilities and limitations of the agonistic framework in addressing the memories of disputed territories.
- By developing and new ways of managing the memories of disputed territories and by trialing these in 8 co-authored case studies in contrasting localities.
- By capturing an innovative model for understanding the successful management of competing memories in non-conflictual ways in the context of peace-building for use by researchers and practitioners.
The project will build a memory management framework and greater understandings of how this can be employed to promote peace-keeping in a variety of contexts. From these experiences detailed policy guidelines and policy briefings will be developed. The later stages will also see wide dissemination of the results to a variety of audiences including through policy briefings, the website, case study reports articles in academic journals and a collectively edited book.
DisTerrMem will also empower civil society actors, cultural practitioners, nation states and regional organizations to develop non-antagonistic versions of memory to promote the cessation of armed conflicts Further impact will include an increase in the skills and knowledge of participants as a result of the project activities and the creation of an international network which will be sustained during the rest of the project and built on by future collaborations and exchanges once the project has ended.