Sarajevo Roundtable to Rethink the Role of Memory in Preventing Violence

The international meeting, titled Closing the Gaps: A Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable on Memory, Prevention and Social Cohesion in Europe, will convene civil society representatives, researchers, museum professionals and policymakers from across Europe to discuss how work on historical memory can contribute more effectively to preventing violence and reinforcing democratic resilience.

Hosted in a city whose recent past is deeply shaped by war, remembrance and reconciliation, the discussions will take place against a backdrop of increasing political polarization, historical revisionism and identity-based tensions in several regions. Participants will reflect on how memory-related initiatives can move beyond commemoration and play a more active role in addressing the causes of conflict and discrimination.

Since the end of the World War II, many countries have developed memorial policies and practices to confront past atrocities, acknowledge victims and reduce the likelihood of their recurrence. Yet current global developments — including renewed denialist narratives and ongoing crises in places such as Gaza and Sudan — highlight the need to reassess how these efforts can translate remembrance into effective preventive action.

Through plenary sessions, roundtables and working groups, participants will explore why memory initiatives often struggle to influence policy and social cohesion, and how they might better address structural drivers of violence. The programme will also examine ways to incorporate historically marginalized perspectives into public narratives and how intersectional approaches can foster dialogue between communities.

Speakers include Hasan Hasanović, a survivor of the Srebrenica genocide and head of the oral history programme at the Srebrenica Memorial Center; researcher and lecturer Alma Mustafić from the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences; Jaclyn Streitfeld-Hall, Deputy Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect; policy advisor Emmanuel Achiri from the European Network Against Racism; scholar Edina Bećirević from the University of Sarajevo; Nayat Karakose of the Hrant Dink Foundation; William Blair from National Museums Northern Ireland; and Nikola Kandić of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office, among others.

The meeting will conclude with the preparation of a policy roadmap outlining recommendations to strengthen the links between memory work, violence prevention, anti-discrimination policies and democratic resilience across Europe.

More information about the event can be found at the following link.