2014 Annual Report - Institute for Historical Justice and

Transcription

1
Institute for Historical
Justice and Reconciliation
Annual Report 2014
1 | IHJR Annual Report 2014
2
3
Table of Contents
1
Introduction
3
IHJR in Brief
6
The Year 2014
8
Staff Insights
10
2014 Highlights
15
Financial Update
16
Future Directions
17
Executive Committee and Advisory Board
18
Staff
19
Partners
20
Auditors Statement
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Introduction
The year 2014 was marked by the commemorations of
two of the most egregious human tragedies of the
20th century: the First World War and the Rwandan
genocide of 1994. Much has been said about the
importance of these commemorations for reaffirming
and fortifying the respect for human rights—for
cementing peace and reconciliation—but less has
been done on making commemorations generally
effective for younger generations, who often perceive
them as an imposed and biased exercise rather than
an inclusive process. For this very reason IHJR has taken the initiative to
engage Armenian and Turkish, and Arab and Jewish students from the
diaspora in an open sustained dialogue on their divided common History.
IHJR’s tenth anniversary in 2014 was symbolized by its decision to
reposition itself not only geographically in Leiden but also intellectually.
This major shift was motivated by the need to share our work with
scholars and university students through an innovative cooperation
between the prestigious Leiden University and IHJR. This includes the
teaching of a new elective course on historical justice and reconciliation by
IHJR project participants and experts, guest speakers series, and last but
not least joint projects.
Our Advisory Board member, Professor Margaret MacMillan, in her much
acclaimed book released in August 2014, The War That Ended Peace,
explained the roots of the First World War by scrutinizing not only the
events that triggered the conflict but also the personalities of the rulers.
This masterpiece reminds us once again that historians not only decrypt
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the past but are indispensable to drawing analogies with the situations of
today.
In an interview, Professor MacMillan said: ‘(…) what history can do more
usefully is offer you warnings, give you ways of thinking about the present
and help you formulate skeptical questions (…)’. We can only regret that
the warning mechanisms currently in place still underestimate the role of
historians in the prevention of future conflicts, and should strive—as IHJR
does—for a more prominent role in the use of history and historians as
agents of constructive historical dialogue.
As I will step down from my position of Executive Director at the end of
year 2015, I would like to thank all the wonderful colleagues, project
participants, Board members and institutional partners with whom I have
had the privilege to work with since 2008.
Catherine Cissé-van den Muijsenbergh
Executive Director
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IHJR in Brief
Vision
Committee, chaired by Bill Shipsey, SC., and
IHJR seeks to promote reconciliation, tolerance
Advisory Board is chaired by H.E. Judge Hisashi
and understanding in divided societies, thus
Owada, and contains distinguished members such
contributing to laying the groundwork for stable
as current UN Human Rights Commissioner Prince
peace and a harmoniously functioning society.
Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, Professor Margaret
Professor Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst as Vice Chair. The
MacMillan, and Supreme Court Associate Justice
Mission
To construct a common understanding of a
Anthony Kennedy. The Executive Director,
Catherine Cissé-van den Muijsenbergh is
responsible for day-to-day operations.
conflictual past by dispelling public myths
The Institute for Historical Justice and
surrounding disputed historical legacies.
Reconciliation (IHJR) brings together historians
and experts who are committed to promoting
reconciliation by directly addressing the historical
About us
roots of conflicts in divided societies. The Institute
has developed into an independent non-profit
The Institute was founded in 2004 by two
organization, first headquartered in The Hague,
historians, Dr. Timothy Ryback, Deputy Director
and—as of October 2014—established at Leiden
General of the Académie Diplomatique
University. It is a non-political, independent
Internationale, and Professor Elazar Barkan from
convener which addresses unresolved historical
Columbia University, under the auspices of the
disputes by providing scientific and multi-
Salzburg Global Seminar. The impetus for its
perspective knowledge in the field of history and
creation was the realization that history is not the
reconciliation.
static record of our past, but the force that shapes
our present and future. Nowhere is this more
relevant than for some of the most intractable
conflicts of the modern world, where in many
communities resentment based on opposing
interpretations of the past—that potentially reach
back centuries—-contribute to present and future
conflict.
The Institute is governed by an Executive
It is at the crossroads between academia and
advocacy that the Institute for Historical Justice
and Reconciliation conducts its work. To date, the
IHJR has completed projects in a diverse range of
areas, working together with scholars from IsraelPalestine, Armenia-Turkey, and the Western
Balkans to produce seven high quality publications
about shared narratives as part of a series on
historical justice and reconciliation. These
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IHJR’s Theory of Change
publications are freely available online. They have
further been translated into several languages in
order to enable the widest possible impact; as of
22 December, 2014, our publications have been
downloaded from our website approximately
7,500 times.
Overall, the sensitive nature of IHJR’s work means
that addressing these deeply complex historical
legacies requires a delicate, long-term endeavour.
Unbiased historical writing by scholars and experts
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living in conflict and post-conflict regions is often a
hatred to deliver sustainable peace.
difficult and sometimes risky process; by
challenging nationalistic narratives and myths, the
scholars could become ostracised within their own
Theory of Change
communities. IHJR commends their courage and
commitment in wishing to address painful pasts in
an open and constructive approach.
The IHJR works closely with historians and
experts, who are committed to constructing
shared historical narratives. Through this method,
A key step to lasting reconciliation is to provide
the aim is to have university educators, history
the fundamental basis for developing educational
teacher associations, history teachers, and
resources with a focus on the younger
diplomats make use of our work. See the figure on
generations. To achieve this goal the Institute
page 4 for a detailed outline of our Theory of
works closely with partners such as the European
Change.
Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO) and
the Faculty of Humanities at the University of
Leiden. By reaching out to the younger
Ultimately, young people are the key final
beneficiaries of IHJR’s efforts in promoting
reconciliation, who are at the same time a
generations in divided
vulnerable group in conflict-
communities, the IHJR
affected societies. They are
translates the abstract into
often at the forefront of
concrete educational
political, social, and economic
materials, such as
contestation, demanding
university courses on its
change from political leaders
methodology and outputs,
who often misuse historical
enabling its academic
accounts. The Institute seeks
work to have a social
to help build the knowledge
impact. Changing the
and methodology, to allow
young generations’
perspectives on
contentious history holds
them to become key agents
Meeting T. Nalbantian, E. Erol, A. Halici, S. Can.
the key to finally breaking cycles of conflict and
for reconciliation in their
communities. IHJR’s Theory of Change is thus
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The Year 2014
The year 2014 was characterised by a major
qualitative change for IHJR: it moved its
headquarters to Leiden, home to one of the oldest
and most renown European Universities, to
develop and implement an innovative programme
in the field of historical justice and reconciliation.
Consolidation of its work through a strategic
partnership with Leiden University was the first
and foremost objective for 2014, which was
successfully implemented in October. This marked
the start of a new phase in IHJR’s history, allowing
it to raise its profile in the academic and policy
fields, and thus to increase its ability to fulfil its
Leiden University
mandate of facilitating reconciliation among
younger generations by working directly with
university staff and students. The Institute
prepared a new elective course on History and
Reconciliation for the Master’s Program in
to teach at the faculty of Humanities of Leiden
University , the newly elective course on Historical
Justice and Reconciliation.
International Studies at Leiden University.
The Institute also developed the new initiative
Furthermore, it explored potential projects with
‘Depolarizing the Past’. This project is aimed at
Leiden University together with the Institute of
fostering social cohesion among divided
History’s scholars.
communities living in the Netherlands through
Since IHJR formally moved to Leiden University
premises, it has benefitted in particular from the
huge pool of talent and resources available at
Leiden. The MA course Coordinator, Dr. O’Malley,
worked closely with the Executive Director
sharing its methodology and its projects on the
conflicts in Israel-Palestine and Armenia-Turkey
with young people who are often prone to identity
-based misconceptions of the ‘Other’. Seed
funding was secured for starting this project.
throughout 2014 shaping the content of the course
In 2014, the IHJR has continued to expand its
and format of the public debates which will be
online presence, the fourteen IHJR e-book
held as extracurricular events related to the
publications were downloaded approximately
course. The following five IHJR scholars—Motti
7,500 times. *
Golani, Adel Manna, and Efrat Ben Ze’ev; Mitja
Velikonja and Dino Abazovic were selected in 2014
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The Institute has also increasingly utilized social
Lastly, thanks to its dedicated project participants,
media outlets for networking and outreach
Mesut Tufan and Zaven Khachikyan, the exhibition
purposes. The results of this development are
‘Crossing Borders Between Armenia and Turkey’
tangible: in 2014, IHJR’s video on IHJR YouTube
will be hosted in Istanbul by the French Cultural
channel have been viewed more than 20,000 times
Institute in 2015.
and the Institute published 48 Facebook posts
reaching at least 5,000 people.
‘Crossing Borders’, exhibited at the Hague Municipality in 2013, and which
will be displayed in Istanbul in 2015.
* The three most popular e-books of 2014 were: ‘Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and its Successor States’, ‘Haifa
Before & After 1948: Narratives of a Mixed City’, and ‘Two Sides of the Coin: Independence and Nakba 1948’.
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Staff Insights
Stanley Iwema
What is your
background?
I was born in Rotterdam, but I
have spent the better half of
Tell us about the project ‘Depolarizing
the Past’. What was the inspiration for
starting this? Why is this socially relevant
work?
my life living in The Hague.
IHJR has extensive experience in projects in
My father is Dutch and my
conflict areas around the world, among them
mother is British. I studied the
Israel and Palestine, and Armenia and Turkey.
BA Cultural Anthropology &
These conflicts reverberate in Dutch society. After
Developmental Sociology at
some incidents relating to these conflicts occurred
Leiden University. I
in the Netherlands, our Executive Director,
proceeded to study the MA
Catherine, decided that we should develop a
International Relations:
project that will have a direct positive impact on
International Studies, also at
Dutch society. This involves applying IHJR’s
Leiden University. It came to
methodology of ‘shared narratives’ to lay out the
my attention that IHJR had established a strategic
multi-perspectivity of history in communities that
partnership with the Faculty of Humanities, and
are divided by history, in order to foster
more specifically, with the International Studies
understanding and respect.
program, and that they were looking for interns.
What do you find most inspiring about
working at IHJR?
What is your position at IHJR and the
nature of your work?
We have a great team of passionate and
After my internship, I continued working at IHJR as
committed staff at IHJR, which is the most
an Associate Program Officer. In this capacity, I am
important aspect of working here. I’m most
responsible for the ‘Depolarizing the Past’ project.
inspired to see how projects start as a few
This involves project development, fundraising,
sentences on paper, and later become activities
organising meetings, developing and maintaining
with a positive impact on society. In addition to
contact with project participants and
this, it’s great to see how IHJR constitutes a space
administrative tasks. This project, like other
in civil society where academia becomes socially
projects at IHJR, is a team effort. IHJR has a
relevant in these concrete activities.
working environment wherein we all contribute to
deliver the best possible outcomes.
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Ties Olivier Schelfhout
What is your
background?
I was born in Leiderdorp,
but grew up in Eindhoven.
After secondary school, I
studied at University
College Utrecht. I have
obtained Masters degrees
in Political Science in
Leiden and International
Law in Amsterdam.
What is your position
at IHJR and the
nature of your work?
I work as Head of
Programs and Finance. In close collaboration with
the Executive Director, I coordinate IHJR’s present
projects, fundraising efforts, as well as dealing
with the financial and day-to-day administrative
business.
What projects have you been most
intimately involved in and how have they
progressed so far?
One of the projects I was closely involved with was
on reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey,
through our ‘Journey towards Understanding’
project. The fact that the photo exhibition will
travel to Istanbul, Turkey in 2015, a year of special
importance to Armenia, is an achievement we can
be justifiably proud of. It is my hope that we will be
able to continue the dialogue on history with
Armenians and Turks on this important and
sensitive historical issue in urban settings. Our
unique methodology does provide a forum for
groups to speak about the subject in ways which
would otherwise be impossible.
The other project I would like to mention is our
cooperation with Leiden University. Thanks to our
affiliation with the Institute of History, we have
launched a course and organized lectures that
brought together practitioners, students, and
researchers interested in our work. We are now
able to develop peace-education materials based
on our Theory of Change. The first pilot has
finished and I cannot wait to develop the
components further.
What do you find most inspiring about
working at IHJR?
I have always had an interest in the relationship of
justice, reconciliation, and history. To be able to
work on creating new forms of understanding on
deep-rooted historical issues continues is
rewarding, even if explaining the impact of our
work is sometimes tricky. It simply takes time to
translate the vision of reconciliation to practical
steps between groups who may not want to
bridge their differences to begin with. We do
amazing work, and I feel privileged to be involved
in its mission.
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2014 Highlights
Education
students of Leiden the opportunity to be involved
Beginning of strategic partnership with
Leiden University
conferences, projects, elective courses, internships
In May of 2014, IHJR signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Faculty of Humanities of
Leiden University, which formalizes the close
in IHJR programs through master classes,
and fieldwork for young researchers. Furthermore,
University staff will gain access to IHJR's
international network of influential academics and
policy makers.
partnership between the two institutions for the
next three years. The memorandum was signed by
the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Professor
Dr. Wim van den Doel, and Secretary of the
Executive Committee and cofounder of the IHJR,
Dr. Timothy Ryback.
Under this agreement, IHJR will greatly benefit
from the international academic expertise of
Leiden University. IHJR will offer the scholars and
Leiden MA Course: Justice,
Reconciliation, Collective Memory and
the Creation of Shared Historical
Narratives in Post-Conflict Regions
As part of the Institute’s move to Leiden and the
implementation of IHJR’s strategic partnership
with the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden
University, IHJR has developed the MA course
‘Justice, Reconciliation, Collective Memory and the
Creation of Shared Historical Narratives in PostConflict Regions’ for the MA program International
Relations: International Studies. Although this
course starts in 2015, the planning and
preparations took place in 2014. The course will
see scholars from conflict regions, who have
worked on IHJR-projects in these conflict regions,
providing lectures as visiting speakers. The guest
lecturers will include: Prof. Mitja Velikonja
(University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), Dr. Dino
Abazović (University of Sarajevo, BosniaHerzegovina), Dr. Efrat Ben-Ze’ev (Ruppin
Dr. Timothy Ryback (left) and Dr. Wim van den Doel (right) signing the
memorandum for the partnership with Leiden University.
Academic Center, Israel), Prof. Motti Golani
(Hebrew University, Israel), Dr. Adel Manna (Van
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Leer Institute, Israel). In addition, IHJR will invite
Ambassador Pieter Feith, with whom IHJR has
collaborated for a number of years, and Judge Kofi
Affande of the International Criminal Tribunal for
Yugoslavia, to share their perspectives on
reconciliation after violent conflict.
EUROCLIO
The strategic partnership with The European
Organization of History Educators (EUROCLIO)
began on 1 January, 2014, and will allow closer
involvement of high school educators in IHJR’s
projects, which will in turn result in a greater
impact of our work in schools.
The strategic partnership builds on the
complementary mission of IHJR and EUROCLIO
around the responsible use of history education as
a primary tool for conflict prevention.
Formalizing the strategic partnership with EUROCLIO
The first area of priority of the collaboration with
EUROCLIO is to develop new projects on sensitive
historical narratives. To begin, we will focus on
existing publications. In converting the
publications to teaching materials, we will share
our publications with its member organisations in
Europe and the MENA region.
The publications ‘Two Sides of the Coin:
After 1948: Narratives of a Mixed City’, ‘Zoom In:
Palestinian Refugees of 1948, Remembrances’ and
‘Sacred Sites in the Holy Land: Historical and
Religious Perspectives’ have been selected and will
be used as pilots to be turned into teaching
materials.*
Independence and Nakba 1948’, ‘Haifa Before &
* The publications are available free of charge on IHJR’s website at http://historyandreconciliation.org/resources/
publications/two-sides-of-the-coin and http://historyandreconciliation.org/resources/publications/haifa-before-after1948
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Training by EUROCLIO on Zoom In to the
network of history educators in Beirut,
Lebanon
of 1948 for the purpose of reconciliation. This
In August, Steven Segers—deputy Director of
latter, the loss of Palestine. The scholars explored
EUROCLIO, our strategic partner—gave a
the ways in which memories of this period are
workshop on ‘The Image of the Other’, which dealt
articulated today by Israelis and Palestinians.
with the question of which groups are left out in
The training organized in Beirut was the first ever
history books. During this presentation, he used
pilot in which a group of 30 high school teachers
some of the images of Zoom In, one of IHJR’s
from the MENA region were trained in using the
signature publications. In 2010, IHJR brought
photos from this publication for a class on the
together Israeli and Palestinian scholars who
question of the Palestinian refugees. In spite of
courageously agreed to address the highly
the emotional and sensitive character of the topic,
sensitive question of remembrances of the events
the training was well received. Teachers expressed
crucial year for Israelis and Palestinians was
marked by the independence of Israel, and for the
the view that the materials would need
to be included into extra-curricular
activities, due to the sensitive nature of
the topic.
Media
Publication: The Construction of
the Tiflis-Aleksandropol-Kars
Railway (1895-1899)
In April, the IHJR published a shared
narrative entitled The Construction of
the Tiflis-Aleksandropol-Kars Railway
(1895-1899), by Professor Candan
Badem from Turkey and Dr. Sonya
Mirzoyan from Armenia. They retrace
Palestinian Refugees from the Village of Aylut in the Silesian Church in Nazareth,
1948, Zoom In
the historical and socio-political
dimensions of the construction of the
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Tiflis-Aleksandropol-Kars railway in 1895-1899.
Because the region experienced a high influx of
migrants under the new Russian rule and was
considered to be a crossroads of cultures at the
time, the construction and exploitation of the
railway serves as a focal point for exploring the
previously peaceful coexistence and integration of
multiple cultural identities.
Documentary short: In the Footsteps of
Tchouhadjian
IHJR presented in 2014 the documentary short ‘In
the footsteps of Tchouhadjian’, an ArmenianTurkish directed by Mesut Yasar Tufan and Ara
Shirinian. The documentary short traces the life of
Dikran Tchouhadjian, a famous Armenian
composer born Istanbul who was considered as
the Ottoman’s Verdi for synthesizing Western and
Eastern music traditions. The demo focuses on one
of his most famous operas ‘Leblebici Horhor Ağa’,
which is still played in various countries.
It was presented to the Armenia Turkey Cinema
Publication: The Construction of the Tiflis-AleksandropolKars Railway (1895-1899)
Platform during the Apricot Film Festival in July
2014. The jury recognized it as a very positive
artistic contribution to reconciliation.
Project Development
Depolarizing the Past
Starting in November, IHJR began the
development of a Netherlands-based pilot project
that aims to ease societal tensions relating to
historical conflicts. IHJR’s approach on the
conflicts between Israel and Palestine, and
Armenia and Turkey, serves as a methodology to
start up challenging conversations between
* The publication is available free of charge on IHJR’s website in two editions: English-Hebrew and English-Arabic, at:
http://historyandreconciliation.org/resources/publications/zoom-in/
17
younger generations from antagonistic
communities of the Dutch society. The ultimate
objective is to raise greater awareness of historical
research within these communities and offer
opportunities for dialogue between them.
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Financial Situation
In 2014, IHJR’s institutional and project costs were
budgeted at €190,193.30. Expenditures for this
period amounted to €124,202.89. IHJR managed to
further reduce its costs, meeting its target to
reduce overall costs for 2014. More details are
provided in the annual report for 2014 audited by
Ataxus B.V., the engagement letter is attached to
this report as an appendix.
In the reporting period, the committed income of
IHJR was sufficient to cover its institutional and
project expenditures. Most of the income was
thanks to the generous support from the
Adessium Foundation, the Swiss Foreign Ministry
and an anonymous donor.
Through the new income and cautious spending,
IHJR carried over the amount of €53,021 into 2015.
Securing core-funding remains the most important
priority for the Institute. As indicated in our
Strategic Plan, we aim to rise at a minimum
€110,000 by the end of 2015.
19
Future Directions
The institutional cooperation with Leiden
University allows IHJR to be in a unique position to
bring to the social arena research on divisive
history. IHJR’s new partnership with Leiden
University has resulted in designing tools that have
a greater impact on the public, first and foremost,
through educational materials, such as a course on
how to with deal with the past, which will be
taught for the first time in 2015. Teaching activities
will be complemented by extracurricular events
and symposia in which a broader public will
participate.
Through the successful completion of projects and
its professional evolution, IHJR has developed
expertise on shared narratives that are relevant to
conflicts rooted in historical legacies. The next
phase for the IHJR will be to be the interface in the
field of applied research on reconciliation between
Leiden University and leading universities based in
Asia, and North America. Furthermore, IHJR’s
approach is relevant in nurturing social cohesion in
places where existing conflicts have been
‘imported’. Increasingly, conflicts like IsraelPalestine and Armenia-Turkey have a direct
negative effect on the dialogue in Dutch society
and other European societies.
The city of Rotterdam
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Executive Committee and
Advisory Board
Executive Committee
Bill Shipsey, SC, Chair
Prof. Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, Vice Chair
Dr. Timothy Ryback, Secretary
Dr. Mark Ellis, Treasurer
Judge Richard Goldstone, First Chair of
the IHJR
Advisory Board
Judge Hisashi Owada, President
Prof. Wim Blockmans
Prof. Wim van den Doel
Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein
Prof. Margaret MacMillan
Prof. Jacques Rupnik
Justice Anthony Kennedy
Edward Mortimer
Maha Kaddoura
Sonia Picado
21
Staff
Catherine Cissé-van den Muijsenbergh, Executive Director
Ties Schelfhout, Head of Programs and Finance
Maha Fleskens, Special Advisor on the Middle East
Marie-Louise Ryback, Senior Advisor
Nico Plasier, Senior Advisor
Amarys Preuss, Associate Program Officer
Stanley Iwema, Associate Program Officer
We would like to thank Kaitlin van Baarle for her assistance in preparing the present annual
report.
22
Partners
Leiden University, Faculty of Humanities
International Studies Program, Leiden University
EUROCLIO, European Organisation of History Educators
Adessium Foundation
Swiss Foreign Ministry - Taskforce on Dealing with the Past
The Municipality of The Hague
23
Auditor’s Engagement Letter
24
Reuvenplaats 4
Postbox 9515
Leiden 2300 RA
The Netherlands
+(0)31 – 71-527 2969
[email protected]
www.historyandreconciliation.org

2014 Annual Report - Institute for Historical Justice and

Transcription

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