First international summit connecting past and present in Europe, June 16 -20

PR Log (Press Release) – Jun 09, 2008 – The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience will hold an international summit from June 16-20, at Monte Sole Peace School in Italy on how historic sites can open new public dialogue on today’s pressing  issues such as immigration, xenophobia and racism. The conference brings together accredited Sites of Conscience from across the world including Italy, USA, South Africa, Russia and Czech Republic. They remember diverse histories in diverse social contexts today – from WWII in Europe to Apartheid in South Africa to immigration in the United States but address common issues such as exclusion, racism, and citizenship. The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is a worldwide network of Sites of Conscience - historic sites specifically dedicated to remembering past struggles for justice and addressing their contemporary legacies.

                     At the opening public event of the summit on June 16, Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy, will address the gathering of international leaders in human rights, arts and culture including:
Héctor Timerman, Ambassador to the US, Argentina
Yasmin Sooka, Former Truth Commissioner, South African Truth Commission, South Africa
José Zalaquett, Professor of Human Rights, Law School of the University of Chile, Chile and
Ruth Abram, Founder, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, USA

                        Local Italian politicians Vasco Errani, President, Regione Emilia-Romagna and Beatrice Draghetti, President, Provincia di Bologna will discuss the current social context in Europe. As part of the summit, European memory sites such as the Haus der Wansee-Konferenz in Germany, where the “final solution” was planned; Le Bois du Cazier in Belgium, a former mine where hundreds of immigrants worked in the 1950s; and the Museum of Free Derry in Northern Ireland, site of the Bloody Sunday massacre will gather to develop common practices for using their histories to address current issues of migration and xenophobia critical in the region.  

                    The summit is being hosted by the Monte Sole Peace School, an accredited member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, joining historic sites as far apart and varied as Memoria Abierta (Argentina), Constitution Hill (South Africa), Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi (Chile), Gulag Museum at Perm-36 (Russia), Japanese American National Museum (United States) and Terezín Memorial (Czech Republic) among others. Monte Sole Peace School, the site of a 1944 massacre of some 700 people by Nazi SS troops with the help of local Fascists, will present its model of dialogue programs at the summit, which includes “Peace in 4 Voices,” a residential summer camp bringing together 40 youth from current or past conflict regions such as Germany, Italy, Israel and Palestine to use the history of Monte Sole to address their own experiences.

Please note: The opening event on June 16th from 3 to 5 p.m. is being held at Bologna Townhall, Bologna, Italy. RSVPs required. The remainder of the summit is by invitation only.