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Sub Groups Overview

The five Sub Groups of Healing Through Remembering are working on five different recommendations which arose from the Healing Through Remembering Consultation of 2001/2 and the subsequent report which was published in June 2002. The five areas which the sub groups are investigating are:

Storytelling

The Storytelling Sub Group has carried out and published an audit of storytelling initiatives related to the conflict, hosted a one-day conference on the theme of “Storytelling as the Vehicle?” and published a report of the conference. The Sub Group is currently working on the values, definitions, core principles and impact of storytelling with the view to producing a Good Practice Guide on Storytelling.

Day Of Reflection

The Day of Reflection Sub Group first commissioned research on International Experiences of Days of Remembrance and Reflection, which was launched at the end of March 2006. The group followed this with a local scoping study to gauge views on the original HTR recommendation. In response to the research findings the group prepared a discussion paper and proposal for an initial Day of Private Reflection to be held on 21 June 2007. Following careful consideration of all feedback received to the proposal the Sub Group proceeded with an initial Day of Private Reflection on 21 June 2007. Please see the press release and news section of the HTR website or visit www.dayofreflection.com for more details about the Day.

Living Memorial Museum

The Living Memorial Museum Sub Group has commissioned an extensive audit of artefacts relating to the conflict which are held in existing archives and personal collections. The audit is being carried out through a joint Fellowship post at the Insititute of irish Studies in Queen's University Belfast. The group has also conducted an Open Call for Ideas on what form a Living Memorial Museum to the conflict may take. A wide range of submissions were received and plans are underway for displaying them and generating further ideas.

Truth Recovery and Acknowledgement

The Truth Recovery and Acknowledgement Sub Group has undertaken two large pieces of work. The first, a scoping study on the current positions of key organisations, institutions and parties relating to acknowledgement of their role in the conflict has informed a discussion paper and proposal on what form acknowledgement might take. This paper, Acknowledgement and its Role in Preventing Future Violence, was published in October 2006. The second piece of research developed by the group was a report on possible options for truth recovery. The report, Making Peace with the Past: Options for truth recovery regarding the conflict in and about Northern Ireland, was launched on 31 October 2006. A series of public meetings were held from January to April 2007 to faciliate discussion and debate on the issue of truth recovery and the options outlined in Making Peace with the Past.

Network of Commemoration and Remembering Projects

The Network of Commemoration Sub Group is currently examining the issues relating to commemoration. The Sub Group commissioned research on commemoration which examined: what is commemoration and what is its role in societies emerging from conflict? The research papers informed a roundtable discussion on commemoration as a way of healing through remembering, which was held in January 2007. A report of the roundtable event is being compiled. Following from two film screenings in 2006 the Sub Group developed a short film series for HTR members which ran from March to June 2007.

The function of the Sub Groups is to investigate further the individual recommendations made in the 2002 Report with regards their feasibility, viability and usefulness to the process of remembering the conflict in and about Northern Ireland and in so doing both individually and collectively contribute to building a better future for all.

For more information on the work on each Sub Group please visit their individual pages on the site.