Take Time for Reflection and Learning

As the summer draws to a close here in the Northeastern Hemisphere, there’s no better time to carve out a few minutes for reflection on history, memory, human rights, and, necessarily these days, COVID-19.  The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience makes it easy, with a stellar series of webinars and recorded dialogues geared for our times.  

Recordings from the Stronger Together Covid-19 series include sessions on activism, transitional justice, civil liberties, refugees and gender issues. Speakers include representatives from the Coalition’s member organizations as well as activists and leaders from around the world.

Upcoming webinars in their Conscience Matters series focus on divisive monuments, and self-care for frontline museum workers now that many facilities have re-opened.

Founded in 1999, the Coalition has over 300 members in 65 countries. U.S. members range from the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise, Idaho, to the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation in Tulsa, to the Pauli Murray Project at the Duke Human Rights Center. The common thread uniting these sites is “their common commitment to connect past to present, memory to action.” In an era of rampant mistrust of everything from the news to one’s neighbors, this is critically important work. Kudos to the Coalition for sharing these webinars widely.