Decade of Anniversaries Toolkit

Understanding Our Past, SHAPING OUR FUTURE Introduction Contents This toolkit is developed as a resource for 1: What is Commemoration? 3 community and cultural groups, museums 2: How to Plan your own Decade of Anniversaries Project 5 and heritage, organisations, councils and departments, and other organisations who 3: Lessons and Tips for Ethical Commemorations 8 are considering commemorative projects or 4: Case Studies 12 1. 1912, A Hundred Years On 12 events in relation to what is popularly 2. 6th Connaught Rangers Research Group 13 3. An Inclusive Covenant 14 known as the ‘Decade of Centenaries.’ 4. Artsekta 15 5. Belfast City Council: Shared History – Different Allegiances, 1912-1914 16 In this toolkit, however, we Community Relations Council projects to have guidance and 6. Border Arts 17 have chosen to use the term and the Heritage Lottery Fund support in acts of 7. Causeway Museum Services 18 ‘Decade of Anniversaries’. The that commemorations of events commemoration. The ‘how to 8. Connection & Division: 1910-1930 19 reason for this is a simple one: from the distant as well as plan your own’ section goes 9. Cultural Fusions 20 while there is currently a strong recent past have drawn through questions and issues 10.Ethical & Shared Remembering 21 emphasis on centenary events, significant attention in this that need to be considered 11.The Fellowship of Messines Association 22 not everything being decade as well; and these are when putting together a commemorated in our society worth considering in the programme or event and the 12.Home Rule? 23 today happened exactly 100 context of discussing how to ‘key findings’ detail lessons 13.The Junction: Laura Gailey Film 24 years ago, and those events did commemorate in a way that learned as seen in the case 14.Maiden’s City: A ‘Herstory’ Tour of the Walled City 25 not take place in a time vacuum unites rather than divides studies. It then provides a list 15.Military History from the Streets: A Guide for Schools 26 but were, instead, part of a society. of resources available that may 16.The Nerve Centre: Teaching Divided Histories 27 larger story. In the approach help with developing an event 17.NICIE: Facing the Past Shaping the Future 28 that will be outlined here, there This toolkit was put together in or programme. 18.North West PEACE III Partnership is an understanding within the order for those working on Decade of Commemorations Programme 30 19.Paths to Commemoration 32 20.Remembering the Future Series 33 21.This is What We Sang 34 Published by the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council (CRC) and Heritage Lottery Fund. CRC aims to promote a pluralist society 22.Westbourne Presbyterian Community Church Lecture Series 35 characterised by equity, respect for diversity, and recognition of interdependence. HLF is the UK’s largest funder of heritage projects. In 23.We Were Brothers 36 Northern Ireland HLF has awarded over £194m to over 1,200 projects. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Council 24.Workers’ Education Association 37 or HLF. ISBN: 9781-8982-7656-2 5: Resources 38 September 2013 Reference Books 39 Reprinted March 2016 Online Resources for Decade of Anniversaries 39 Organisations who can assist with collaboration, Acknowledgements funding and developing activities related to the Decade of Anniversaries 40 We would like to thank all of the community groups, statutory bodies, museums and heritage workers, and others who contributed to the development of this toolkit. Their cooperation in providing information and giving feedback related to the resources they utilised and process of project development was invaluable. Developed by Healing Through Remembering; Compiled by Jayme Reaves and Helen McLaughlin 1 2 What is 1:Commemoration? Types of Commemoration boundaries between groups who The Future two years as a method that Commemoration marks There exist many have been in conflict, which Being sensitive to this could assist both CRC and HLF out the special from the commemorative practices causes further division. relationship between culture, as well as others involved in relating to the conflict in and Sometimes competing groups try society and commemoration Decade of Anniversaries events, ordinary, or the about Northern Ireland and to control the meaning of creates space for thinking informing practice and extraordinary, from the these take many forms, particular commemorations, and about the ways we can providing guidance for the everyday and acts of including: some can feel that the story commemorate in a positive development of •Fixed or semi fixed physical about certain historical events way. Marking the importance commemorations. commemoration are memorials and/or murals; gets taken over by other groups of certain events, movements, The origin of these best about retaining in the •Memorial services and timed for their own purposes. Also, or people allows us to practice principles is found in memory, or committing remembrances; commemoration can lead to the remember those who have gone discussions held both between •Marches and parades; forgetting of other dimensions before as well as giving us the CRC and HLF as well as to the memory, events, •Music and song or memorial of historical fact that contradict opportunity to imagine ways to roundtable discussions with a developments and books; or complicate the agreed story. consider the past and shape wide range of individuals and people from the past. •The arts – i.e. artwork, society for a better future. groups (including historians, storytelling, drama; Forgetting commentators, community When we mark •Endowments / commemorative The role of forgetting in relation Principles for groups, government, museums anniversaries or other organisations, foundations, to commemoration is often Commemoration and heritage services, etc.) important historical or awards and medals; overlooked, but forgetting isn’t Principles for commemoration between 2010 and 2011. • Web-based or physical always a bad thing. Concern which underscore this toolkit Seminal to their development cultural movements archives; and about forgetting what happened were developed in partnership was the ‘Remembering the (e.g. labour or equality • Physical spaces for the in the past often fuels conflict by the Community Relations Future’ conference organised by movements), we assign collection of commemorative about commemorations between Council (CRC) and the Heritage CRC and HLF on 21 March 2011 materials. communities as each seek to Lottery Fund (HLF) in order to as the beginning of a meaning to an event, remind themselves and each inform upcoming events related conversation which raised the occurrence, or lives of Impact of Commemoration other of historic grievances. to the Decade of Anniversaries: issue of remembering in a individuals or groups But commemoration can be a But that same concern about public space in light of the mixed bag. On one hand, forgetting the past also has the 1) Start from the historical Decade of Anniversaries. The that we deem to be commemoration can be an potential to encourage actions facts; process of developing the important to who we enjoyable experience that opens and draw communities together 2) Recognise the implications principles enabled are as a society. up historical events in a way to ensure such grievances don’t and consequences of what organisations connected with that makes a personal impact. occur again. happened; the CRC and HLF to engage Commemoration can also At certain times, depending on 3) Understand that different with issues around culture and promote acknowledgement by what issues are being dealt with perceptions and identity, rights, concepts of pointing to a legacy of the past in society, certain interpretations exist; and democracy, and political change that still has importance for commemorations carry more 4) Show how events and as well as acknowledging the today and can be beneficial to a weight than others, and what activities can deepen legacy of the conflict in the society because it has potential may have been forgotten in the understanding of the period. context of Northern Ireland. to help develop or renew past becomes important. On The principles were then relationships between opposing the other hand, All to be seen in the context of formally adopted in 2011 and groups by working together to commemorations often shape an ‘inclusive and accepting have since been distributed bring conflicting views of society by continuing to society’ and utilised in on-going history together for a shared emphasise what is valued Decade of Anniversaries purpose. through annual observance of These principles were commemorative events. On the other hand, particular events. As a result developed over the course of commemoration can also be commemoration can often vary difficult, divisive or painful. in popularity depending on Many times commemoration is current social and ideological used to ritualise and harden the needs. 3 4 How to plan your own 2: Decade of Anniversaries Project Overall, there are two The second is that there is a 2: Can you incorporate the 5: What is the focus of the 8: Who would you like to example for parents of young physical or virtual space Ethical and Shared event or project? contribute or lead? children, and winter evenings main elements of created for celebration, Remembering ethos below to Although you may wish to Do you need a speaker, a can be offputting for some older commemoration that remembering, and honouring help you to run an effective remember the decade as a facilitator or chair, someone people having to travel to an are useful to think shown in the form of symbolic event or project? whole, given how with an interesting family story, unfamiliar venue at night and in exchange, gift-giving, story- Remembering in Context interconnected the various an expert, or someone from an poor weather. about for best practice telling or marking a location to Remembering the Whole Decade events were, you may wish to organisation with a particular •Ease of understanding: purposes.

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