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SIT Symposium in Rwanda Examines Conflict and Memory
World Learning’s SIT programs kicked off an interdisciplinary symposium titled Conflict, Memory, and Reconciliation: Bridging past, present, and future in Kigali, Rwanda January 10 with a keynote speech from renowned Argentine scholar Elizabeth Jelin, PhD.
A standing-room only crowd of more than 150 people was on hand to hear from Jelin, senior researcher at Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council and academic director of the Center for Memory Studies at the Institute for Economic and Social Development in Buenos Aires.
In her remarks, Jelin suggested that it is impossible for societies to fully resolve the cleavages created by conflict and move beyond these historical events. Jelin’s argument drew upon her research in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil.
The passing of time and shifting priorities of stakeholders—including a country’s military, political leaders, and domestic and international human rights advocates—serve to change the very definition of “the past” and what occurred during a period of conflict. In addition, there appear to be crimes that occur during conflict and social inequalities that exist afterward for which there are no commensurate reparations.
For these reasons, scholars should accept that memory of conflict will be open-ended, always subject to reinterpretation and the priorities of new generations.
Jelin’s speech and remarks from Rwanda’s Governance Advisory Council Executive Secretary Anastase Shyaka, PhD, set the tone for the four-day symposium. SIT Study Abroad and SIT Graduate Institute, programs of World Learning, are sponsoring the symposium in partnership with the Center for Conflict Management at the National University of Rwanda.
The event has attracted dozens of scholars from countries as varied as Indonesia, Uganda, and Norway, who are presenting their research, participating in panels, and discussing the pedagogy and ethics of teaching conflict and memory. Other planned highlights of the symposium include a visit to Kigali Memorial Centre and a Rwandan theater genocide testimony performance.
To learn more, visit the conference website.