A Report on Who Gets Remembered in Public Spaces
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Welsh Parliament Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee Set in Stone? A report on who gets remembered in public spaces March 2021 www.senedd.wales The Welsh Parliament is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people. Commonly known as the Senedd, it makes laws for Wales, agrees Welsh taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account. An electronic copy of this document can be found on the Welsh Parliament website: www.senedd.wales/SeneddCWLC Copies of this document can also be obtained in accessible formats including Braille, large print, audio or hard copy from: Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee Welsh Parliament Cardiff Bay CF99 1SN Tel: 0300 200 6565 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @SeneddCWLC © Senedd Commission Copyright 2021 The text of this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading or derogatory context. The material must be acknowledged as copyright of the Senedd Commission and the title of the document specified. Welsh Parliament Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee Set in Stone? A report on who gets remembered in public spaces March 2021 www.senedd.wales About the Committee The Committee was established on 28 June 2016. Its remit can be found at: www.senedd.wales/SeneddCWLC Committee Chair: Bethan Sayed MS Plaid Cymru Current Committee membership: Mick Antoniw MS John Griffiths MS Welsh Labour Welsh Labour Carwyn Jones MS Helen Mary Jones MS* Welsh Labour Plaid Cymru David Melding MS Welsh Conservatives *From 26 February 2020 - 8 January 2021 Helen Mary Jones was Acting Temporary Chair of the Committee. Set in Stone? A report on who gets remembered in public spaces. Contents Chair’s foreword ..................................................................................................... 5 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 7 1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 9 Background ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Aims of this report ............................................................................................................................................... 9 Evidence gathering ............................................................................................................................................. 9 2. Current acts of commemoration ......................................................... 10 The debate around commemoration .............................................................................................. 10 The Legall Audit of Commemoration in Wales ........................................................................ 12 The principle of removing statues........................................................................................................ 14 Our view ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 3. Supporting communities in determining who gets remembered .......................................................................................................... 18 Engaging with communities ................................................................................................................... 18 Use of criteria .......................................................................................................................................................... 19 The Blue Plaque Scheme ............................................................................................................................ 22 Guidance to local authorities ................................................................................................................... 22 To what extent is (re)contextualization appropriate? ........................................................ 24 Removing statues .............................................................................................................................................. 26 Our view ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 4. Education and future commemoration ............................................ 31 Education and awareness ........................................................................................................................... 31 How we commemorate in future ........................................................................................................ 33 Our view ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Annex A: List of oral evidence sessions. ..................................................... 38 Annex B: List of written evidence ................................................................. 40 Set in Stone? A report on who gets remembered in public spaces. Chair’s foreword The question of who we remember in our public spaces is an emotive one. It evokes ideas of who we were, as well as who we are, as a society. In Wales we were shocked by the events in the summer of 2020 and the tragic death of George Floyd. The wave of protest that followed also ignited a debate around who we remember in our public spaces. There is much in our history to be proud of, but that pride we all feel should not blind us from some of the more egregious events that have also taken place in our past – the legacy of which is still being felt today. This report seeks to take a strategic view of the issues based on first principles. We make a total of 9 recommendations which address the current debate around who we remember. We found that more needs to be done to raise awareness of our history – including some of the more difficult and painful legacies of the past. Local communities should have the final say on acts of commemoration in their area. However, we have found that more could be done to empower our communities to arrive at collective decisions relating to existing public commemorations. Steps must be taken by the Welsh Government to facilitate this including through agreeing new guidance for local communities. We also looked at the use of criteria for judging the appropriateness of acts of commemoration. There is naturally a sometimes irreconcilable subjectivity to these judgements. However, we believe that there are clear benefits to designing criteria that provide a good indication as to whether a commemoration is likely to be appropriate or not. Looking ahead to the future, this report calls on the Welsh Government to harness the energy and vigour of debate around commemoration to bring about positive change in the longer term. Many groups of people are rarely, if ever, represented in our public spaces. We need the Welsh Government to lead a national conversation – in partnership with charities, local authorities, museums and heritage organisations and others – on how to address this. During this inquiry some have expressed fears that to topple a statue is to “erase history”. Those fears can be misplaced. As one of the witnesses to our inquiry, Bill Jones, put it: “Nid hanes yw cofeb; mae gan gofeb hanes.” 5 Set in Stone? A report on who gets remembered in public spaces. “A commemoration is not history; a commemoration has history.” This work has been illuminating and challenging in equal measure. We are extremely grateful to all those who took part in the inquiry for aiding the Committee in this important area of work. Bethan Sayed MS Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee 6 Set in Stone? A report on who gets remembered in public spaces. Recommendations Recommendation 1. The Welsh Government should publicise the work of the Legall Audit of Commemoration through a programme of community engagement and public awareness-raising. ................................................................................ Page 16 Recommendation 2. The Welsh Government should leave ultimate authority for decisions relating to contentious statues, monuments or commemorations with local authorities and communities. However, there are some important processes and principles which should apply and which the Welsh Government should provide leadership and guidance to local authorities and other public bodies on, which are set out below. ................................................................................................................................ Page 16 Recommendation 3. The Welsh Government should create a comprehensive “one stop shop” guidance document for local authorities and public bodies relating to acts of commemoration in Wales. The guidance should include: ▪ advice on best practice for consulting local communities; ▪ advice on participative methods for engaging ‘harder to reach’ and minority groups; ▪ advice on involving specialist opinion, including local historians. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Page 28 Recommendation 4. The Welsh Government should agree criteria for inclusion in the guidance document which can be used as a “diagnostic checklist”