23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory, turned two years old on April 23.5, 2021.

On the occasion of its anniversary, we held a conversation with the Executive Director of International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, Elizabeth Silkes, and professor of anthropology and gender studies Ayşe Gül Altınay joined by the team of 23.5.

The conversation titled ‘Sites of Conscience From the Past to Future, From Memory to Action’ addressed the meaning of sites of conscience in today’s world, the role that sites of conscience play in turning memory to action, the transformative impact of sites of conscience on children and youth, the learning, solidarity and activism opportunities the Coalition provides and the transformation that the pandemic generated in the field of memorialization.

Elizabeth Silkes gave detailed information about the work of the Coalition and shared that the Coalition encourages dialogue across differences, questioning of the past and the hegemonic narrative while also encouraging questioning what is missing in the hegemonic narrative. Silkes stated that the Coalition has 330 members in 67 countries and they work closely with archives and documentation centers. Truth, justice, and reconciliation lie at the heart of the work of the Coalition. Silkes discussed that truth-seeking is a process during which bringing communities together and fostering dialogue play an important role.  According to Silkes,  ‘We can’t just say we are going to remember the past,  we are working towards a society that respects human rights, that centers the truth and narratives of victims and survivors.’ Silkes informed that the Coalition works closely with the youth and children in post-conflict societies and the Coalition also strives to bring the youth and survivors together through storytelling and art projects.

Ayşe Gül Altınay touched upon the importance of talking about what happened to humans instead of the soil and property lost. She pointed out the significance of creating spaces where people can come together to look at each other’s wounds and how those spaces provide an opportunity for healing. She mentioned that mourning starts with acknowledgment and she said enabling contact between people to look at each other’s pains has a transformative impact and reminded that Hrant Dink himself made efforts for it.  Altınay gave a reference to the ‘Salt and Light’ installation at 23.5 by artist Sarkis and explained how he invites us to explore the wounds of each other by filling the cracks on the wall with silver.  According to Altınay, we need the courage to look at the wounds and quoted Rumi’s phrase ‘The wound is where the light gets in.'

Neslihan Koyuncu and Nayat Karaköse from the 23.5 team talked about the preparatory phase of 23.5 and discussed how 23.5 acts as a space for dialogue, truth, and commemoration.  They also shared future plans for creating a virtual site of 23.5.

The conversation focused on the questions below. Here are some of the questions discussed in the conversation. If you wish to watch the responses given to the questions you may click each question.

• What does the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience do and what lies at the heart of the Coalition?
• What kind of possibilities do sites of conscience offer for activism and for turning memory into action?
• What kind of transformative impact do sites of conscience have on children and youth?
• During the pandemic, many people understood the importance of grief and the value of sharing the pain. What was the experience of the Coalition of this period, what did you do to support your members?
• Following the murder of George Floyd, the US is living an extraordinary year, the discussions around the confederate statutes and memory sites increased. How has this mass mobilization and reaction shaped the work of the Coalition?
• How do you see the role of the digital? Now there is a big potential and we are changing our relationship with the physical sites. How do you see this move towards the virtual world in terms of the work that you are doing at the Coalition? 
  
  We would like to thank everyone who participated in the conversation and joined us on our anniversary.