Resources

Welcome to the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience’s Open-Access Resource Center.

Here you will find resources developed by staff and Sites of Conscience around the globe on program design, dialogue facilitation, transitional justice, and urgent issues relating to race, women, contested histories, migration, and much more. You can filter our content by subject through the search below or access resources by categories through the menu on the left. In the site’s main search engine, you can also search using your own keywords. Resources are divided into three categories:

Toolkits provide in-depth analysis and case studies of specific methodologies and contexts, as well as publications and policy briefs by the Coalition’s Global Initiative for Justice, Truth, and Reconciliation.

Webinars bring together members, Coalition staff, and special guests to share best practices and innovative strategies on pressing issues facing Sites of Conscience today.

Front Page Dialogues are rapid response tools that help Sites of Conscience and similar organizations conduct dialogues around current events and community needs.

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Member Welcome Webinar

Join Coalition staff as they welcome new members from across the globe and discuss the benefits of membership. This webinar is also beneficial for those considering joining the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

This session will have simultaneous interpretation in Spanish.

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Member welcome webinar

Join Coalition staff as they welcome new members from across the globe and discuss the benefits of membership. This webinar is also beneficial for those considering joining the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

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Toolkit

In Their Own Voices

A Manual for Inclusive, Victim-Centered Documentation and Memorialization of Forced Displacement Launched in March 2024, this manual provides guidance to adopt inclusive and victim-centered documentation…

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Prototyping: Observation and Learning

Fall 2024 Webinar Short Series

In this final session of ICSC’s Webinar Short series on prototypes, our methodology and practice team will support participants as they begin to test their prototypes on their intended audiences. Here you will explore ideas for finding ideal participants for this, and also learn tools for recording and analyzing their observations and suggestions. Finally, you’ll receive actionable tips for developing your prototype into a useful and meaningful final product. 

This session is part of the “Prototyping” webinar series, where ICSC’s methodology and practice team will explore how prototypes can enhance engagement and innovation at Sites of Conscience and similar organizations. Discover the power of experimentation in driving success and deepening connections.

To register, click here.

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Prototyping: Fast, Cheap and People-centered

Prototyping is and should be a messy process. Imperfection is ideal, and big budgets are not necessary. In fact, the scrappier it is, the better – because that empowers those engaging with the prototype to have agency in its development, to have ownership of its creation. And, whether for visitors, partners, volunteers or staff, a prototype should always be created with the group it will ultimately benefit. Using examples from Sites of Conscience and their allies, ICSC’s methodology and practice team used this session to help participants brainstorm their own prototype experiments. 

This session is part of the “Prototyping” webinar series, where ICSC’s methodology and practice team will explore how prototypes can enhance engagement and innovation at Sites of Conscience and similar organizations. Discover the power of experimentation in driving success and deepening connections.

Watch here.

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Prototyping: What’s the Question?

A prototype is a model – the beginning of an idea. Like all good ideas, successful prototypes begin with questions. What are we trying to figure out? Who is this exhibit, or program, for? How will we judge success? And are we willing to change based on what we find out? Prototypes prevent organizations from making change in a vacuum. They provide the freedom and feedback we need to succeed. In this interactive session, ICSC’s methodology and practice team will help participants identify key questions to help them pilot prototypes at their institution.

This session is part of the “Prototyping” webinar series, where ICSC’s methodology and practice team will explore how prototypes can enhance engagement and innovation at Sites of Conscience and similar organizations. Discover the power of experimentation in driving success and deepening connections.


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Dialogue in Difficult Times

Engaging the public in contentious conversations is not easy, but it is often necessary.

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is pleased to offer this virtual dialogue training course, open to members and non-members alike. Dialogue in Difficult Times is a six-hour virtual training designed to give staff at Sites of Conscience and like-minded organizations the theoretical and practical tools they need to build dialogic conversations.

Participants will explore what dialogue is and is not, how to craft an “Arc of Dialogue,” and practical ways to both encourage and manage participants’ perspectives, drawing from the work and expertise of over 370 members in 70 countries.

The training will be held across three days: February 4th, 5th, and 6th from 10AM-12PM EST each day.

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Co-Creating with Communities

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is pleased to offer this virtual dialogue training course, open to members and non-members alike. Co-Creating with Communities is a six-hour virtual training program designed to give staff at Sites of Conscience and like-minded organizations the theoretical and practical tools they need to work collaboratively with their communities as true partners.

Participants will explore strategies for engaging new communities, building reciprocal partnerships, sharing power, and co-creating with visitors and community partners. We will draw on the stories and examples from the work and expertise of over 370 members in 70 countries.

The training will be held across three days: October 29th, 30th, and 31st from 10AM- 12PM EST each day.

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Toolkit

The Indigenous Ally: Museum Practitioner Toolkit 

This toolkit’s goal is to help the next set of museum leaders, decolonizers, and accomplices learn to look at their institution and work critically, and enter into a space of allyship for Indigenous communities. 

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Addressing the Silences: Making Change from the Inside Out

This webinar is the final in a three-part series highlighting lessons learned from ICSC’s Addressing the Silences, a three-year project intended to help sites create ever deeper, more meaningful relationships in their communities. This session examines the importance of internal change to the this process. In it, project participants from Michigan History Center, City of Austin Heritage Museums – Elisabet Ney Museum and City of Austin Heritage Museums -Brush Square Museums will discuss how they reviewed their current institutional practices to identify barriers to creating collaborative and inclusive relationships with their community partners. Attendees will learn how each group created an action plan to begin to break those barriers by making changes to their internal policies, practices, and approaches.

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Addressing the Silences: Building Reciprocal Relationships

This webinar is the second of three in a 2024 series that shares stories and tools for reflection, collaboration, and internal change at Sites of Conscience. Guided by findings from ICSC’s Addressing the Silences project, this session welcomes project participants from the Chinese Historical Society of America, Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses, the Illinois State Museum, John Dickinson Plantation, and The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice to discuss frameworks and strategies for building reciprocal community partnerships between museums and community partners. Examined questions include how institutions can intentionally share power with partners and identify a larger shared purpose.

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Addressing the Silences: Reflecting on Exclusions in Your Organization

This is the first webinar in a three-part series detailing lessons learned from ICSC’s Addressing the Silences, a three-year project intended to help Sites of Conscience create ever deeper, more meaningful relationships in their communities. In this opening session, project participants from the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society as well as the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula shared an assessment tool to assist attendees in beginning to reflect on their organization’s community representation and engagement, and identify potential partners.

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Safeguarding Memory: Approaches to Security in Memory Work

Designed to support Sites of Conscience located in dangerous or unstable contexts, this training shares key concepts, best practices and tools to carry out human rights work more securely. Led by Security Specialist, Brett Edwards, a human rights attorney and management consultant with over 15 years of experience in working with partners from different contexts around the world, the training covers best practices for common security issues, tools for how to improve security management within your organization, and tips for identifying and mitigating common risks. This was a member-only event; to watch the recording, please contact coalition@sitesofconscience.org.

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State of Truth in the World Report: Africa

Drawing on ICSC’s “State of Truth in the World Report“, published by its GIJTR, this webinar highlights the pivotal role played by civil society organizations in spearheading truth-telling initiatives from Guinea and The Gambia to Ethiopia and Sudan. Distinguished panelists shared examples of locally-led truth-telling initiatives from their contexts, and discussed strategies and best practices that civil society actors can use to navigate the challenges of truth-telling in fragile contexts, from leveraging technology for documentation and dissemination of testimonies to engaging with local communities in participatory dialogue and reconciliation processes.

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Violent Extremism and Transitional Justice Webinar

The threat of violent extremism is on the rise globally – from far-right-wing groups gaining legitimate political representation in Eastern Europe to armed attacks by militia groups in the Sahel region of Africa, to the continued threat of terrorism following the Easter bombing attacks in Sri Lanka in 2019. In this webinar, ICSC shares transitional justice tools that can be harnessed to address violent extremism across three regions – West Africa, the Balkan region, and Asia (specifically Sri Lanka). The webinar draws on ICSC’s related policy paper, which explores how to address radicalization and violent extremism through a variety of means, including community dialogues; justice and accountability processes; trauma-informed responses; institutional reform within state structures; and reparations, including community-based memorialization.

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Toolkit

Testimonio y Archivo

A decade after the original publication, Memoria Abierta presents an updated and expanded version of Testimonio y Archivo, a text that synthesizes the working methodology…

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Toolkit

Giving Life to Memory

Released in 2023, this publication aims to support civil society actors in creating and utilizing digital archives to support transitional justice mechanisms and advance the…

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Toolkit

Truth, Bread, and Tea

Truth, Bread and Tea draws on the extensive research conducted by GIJTR partners Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience…

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Toolkit

Guidelines for Journalists

These guidelines are meant to serve as a resource for continued learning and exchange with other journalists interested in advancing truth, justice and memory after…

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Memory Will Teach Us Something

This toolkit was created for teachers, activists, memory practitioners and others seeking resources for innovative educational approaches to addressing past human rights violations and divided…

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State of Truth in the World Report

Recognizing the interdependency of truth and justice, The State of Truth in the World Report is an in-depth review of global developments related to truth. Using a…

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The Human Right to a Healthy Environment Share

April is Earth Month, to celebrate we are highlighting the great work of our member Villa Grimaldi and their climate justice project “Sites of Conscience and Vulnerated Territories: The Human Right to Live in a Healthy Environment”. Join our Global Networks Associate in Global Programs Elena del Hoyo Corral and Daniel Rebolledo Hernández from Villa Grimaldi as they talk about the project, its goals, importance, and vision for the future of Chilean climate justice.

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Interpreting the Unknown: Being Adaptive as a Place of Memory

At historical sites, the available historical evidence rarely tells the whole story. Longstanding systems of inequality and injustice have dismissed the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities, women and other marginalized groups to such an extent that often little evidence of their past lives exists today. How can Sites of Conscience and likeminded organizations navigate this difficult fact? How do we tell stories about the spaces and lives that have no verifiable, historical record connected to them? 

Join us on October 19th, at 10:00am (E.T) for “Interpreting the Unknown: Being Adaptive as Places of Memory” as we offer strategies and insight into how Sites of Conscience can share histories even when they don’t have all the facts.

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Cultivating Peace: Healing Communities Through Healing the Earth

In “Cultivating Peace: Healing Communities Through Healing the Earth,” we explore how Sites of Conscience can foster more resilient, equitable and healthy communities through programming that directly engages with nature and offers new approaches to how communities understand their land both past and present. This event brought together in conversation Jen Kretser, Director of Climate Initiatives at the Wild Center, a U.S. Site of Conscience in the Adirondacks, and Denis Ngala, Founder of the Manene Cultural Trust, a member in Kenya, to discuss their experiences and strategies using nature as a springboard to foster deeper understandings of how different communities have interpreted specific landscapes; to encourage communities to care for the land in big and small ways; and to develop innovative programming around the environment that promotes our shared humanity in an increasingly polarized world.  

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The Legacy of the Settlement House Movement

Around the turn of the 20th century, the American Settlement House Movement arose as an innovative approach to addressing social issues caused by rapid industrialization and unchecked capitalist greed. In particular, Settlement Houses provided help to the growing number of immigrants living and working in American cities. Join us for an exploration of how the movement and the work continues into the present day. Speakers Nadia Maragha (Jane Addams Hull House Museum, Chicago), Dakota Russell (The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association, Salem, MA), and Katie Vogel (Henry Street Settlement, New York) will describe how their unique organizations tell the stories of the Settlement movement and carry on its vision for a new century. Kenneth Turino, Past President of The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association, will moderate.

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Toolkit

Body Mapping for Advocacy: A Toolkit

Shirley Gunn for the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Founded by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, the Global Initiative for Justice,…

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Organizational Change

Our understanding of history is, in so many ways, a process – one that unfolds overtime as new research unveils new perspectives, communities engage with organizations in new ways and advocacy efforts amplify the silenced voices of the past. As a result, Sites of Conscience and like-minded organizations are in a constant state of growth and change. In this Webinar Short, join Linda Norris, ICSC’s Senior Specialist in Methodology and Practice, as she shares some creative and accessible tips for welcoming change and even initiating it at your organization whether your organization is a new start-up or a long-established one. Hint: start small!

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Descendant Communities

In post-conflict settings around the world, family members often play a galvanizing role in advocating for truth and justice for their loved ones lost to war and violence. In North America, through the use of family records, oral histories, and some formal documentation, descendants of enslaved communities have become powerful advocates for uncovering, preserving, and amplifying the history of their ancestors.

In our next webinar, we will shine a spotlight on these dynamic communities – examining the importance of these vital groups and how Sites of Conscience can better engage and work with them today. We will be joined by Elizabeth Chew, of James Madison’s Montpelier, a representative of the Montpelier Descendant Committee, as well as Bill Green from the Clotilda Descendants Association. Watch here.

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No Place Like Home: Housing as a Human Right

The right to adequate housing, including the ability to live “somewhere that is in keeping with your culture” with “access to appropriate services, schools, and employment,” is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and yet, around the world, cities are becoming progressively unequal, with vulnerable minorities being pushed out through gentrification and spatial segregation. This often has a ripple effect, deepening inequity and limiting socio, cultural and economic diversification in areas with privileged infrastructure.

On July 20th, 2023, at 10:00am (ET), join “No Place Like Home: Housing as a Human Right,” a webinar hosted by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience that will examine social and affordable housing initiatives that are working to democratize access to urban spaces, foster co-existence, and counter systems that expel people with less economic power to peripheral areas deprived of services and opportunities.

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The Body Remembers: Exploring the Effect of Trauma on the Body

Conflict traumatizes societies in multiple ways. Most concretely, it damages infrastructure, obliterating houses, schools, and cultural sites. It also destroys the social fabric by poisoning feelings of trust and commonality among community members. An equally common, but often overlooked result of conflict is the devastating and long-lasting effect it has on bodies. The body may serve as evidence of physical violence through scars or missing limbs, but also frequently carries less visible, but still life-altering signs of trauma, from anxiety and insomnia to a more general unease that can be difficult to name but leads to further marginalization of victims. In this webinar, we will explore how conflict, and injustice more generally, presents itself in our individual and collective bodies. Panelists will also provide insight into ways to counteract this damage through art-based and somatic healing methods.

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The Movement for Memory in Mexico


Movements for memory can take many forms – from campaigns that advocate for national policies and laws to more spontaneous gatherings of activists that incorporate civil disobedience and other types of non-violent direct action. On April 20th, join our next Conscience Matters webinar, as we explore the synergies between these strategies through the context of Mexico, where families of the disappeared, memory practitioners, and other activists have spent years amplifying the vital role of public memory and countering harmful government narratives through multiple channels. The webinar will bring together key figures involved in these movements to discuss the many ways public memorials can be transformed, as well as the opportunities and challenges of creating memory laws in the country. The webinar will be conducted in Spanish with English interpretation.

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Toolkit

From Brown V. Board to Ferguson, Vol. 2

This toolkit is the second of two which were produced over the course of the three year project, “Brown V. Board to Ferguson.” In this toolkit, you will find facilitated dialogue models of the participating member sites. Most of the models in this toolkit were developed by the youth leaders for both intergenerational and youth audiences.

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American LGBTQ+ Museum an Interview with Ben Garcia


Join the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) as we welcome Ben Garcia, the Executive Director of the American LGBTQ+ Museum, to discuss the Museum’s scheduled 2024 opening, its mission and programming, and how you can be involved.
The conversation is part of ICSC’s Webinar Short series which features 30-minute sessions on the latest developments in the world of Sites of Conscience and their allies.

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Halting Hate: A Bottom-up Approach to Understanding and Fighting Hate Speech in the Asia Pacific

In the Asia Pacific, like in other regions of the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated alarming trends of scapegoating and hate speech against minority groups. Who are the primary targets? Through which channels does hate speech spread? And, looking at solutions, what can civil society do? In this webinar, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) and the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) will bring together three experts from the field to explore a bottom-up approach to understanding and fighting hate speech.

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Reparations 101: Who, What, Where, When and Why

Since the advent of the Black Lives Matter movement, “reparations” are often referred to in the media, but what exactly they are is not always understood. What is their purpose? How might they be dispersed? To whom? And what role do they have in connecting ideas of justice to the legacies of slavery in the United States? On March 23, 2023, join Ereshnee Naidu-Silverman, Senior Director of the Global Transitional Justice Initiative at ICSC, for our next Webinar Short, which will explore these questions and more through a global lens.

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Disarming Americans: Museums Take on Gun Control

Situated in “red” states and “blue” states, big cities and rural communities, Sites of Conscience and their allies are uniquely positioned to foster constructive dialogue on gun control among a wide subset of people. But how? On February 16, 2023 – shortly after the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people and injured 17 more – join us as we discuss how museums and memory sites can memorialize gun violence, deepen our understanding of the history and mythology surroundings guns in America, and spark productive conversations on gun control that transcend political and ideological divides.

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Atrocity Prevention &Transitional Justice: Understanding the Linkages

The linkages between atrocity prevention and transitional justice are significant, but frequently overlooked. This roundtable will highlight the nexus between transitional justice and atrocity prevention by focusing on the role of psychosocial support, documentation and archives in upstream prevention and the need for gender justice in larger prevention efforts.

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Webinar Short: What’s Not Working?

To ring in the new year, join Braden Paynter, Director of Methodology, as he leads a short discussion on the best of what didn’t work in 2022 in order to identify new and more effective strategies moving into 2023. If you have any insights, big fails, and lessons learned that you would like to share ahead of time, please email coalition@sitesofconscience.org.

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Mobilizing Memory: Defending Cultural Memory During Conflicts

Join us in conversation with Ihor Poshyvailo from Maidan Museum, a member in Kyiv, and Hadi Marifat, founder of member the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, as they share insights into the ways national memory affects conflict, how cultural practitioners do their work during conflicts, and how the outside world can support them.

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Podcast

Transitional Justice in America

To spark action on transitional justice in America, on June 16, 2022 the Coalition launched Transitional Justice in America, a six-episode podcast series that raises awareness…

Front Page Dialogue

Museums and #MeToo

A Front Page Dialogue guide centered on helping audiences have productive conversations around #MeToo and women’s narratives at museums. View the resource here.

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Front Page Dialogue

Guns in America

A Front Page Dialogue guide centered on helping audiences have productive conversations around guns and second amendment rights in America. View the resource here.

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Front Page Dialogue

Women and Voting Rights

A Front Page Dialogue guide centered on helping audiences have productive conversations on women and voting rights. To access the guide, click here.

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Front Page Dialogue

Dialogo Sombre Covid-19

Una guía de Diálogo de Primera Plana en español destinada a facilitar conversaciones productivas sobre Covid-19. Vea el recurso aquí.

A Front Page Dialogue guide in Spanish aimed at helping facilitate productive conversations about Covid-19. View the resource here.

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New Member Webinar

In this Conscience Matters webinar, join Coalition staff as they welcome new members from across the globe and discuss the benefits of membership. This webinar is also beneficial for those considering joining the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. View the resource here.

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We Are Present

In this session, we virtually launched “We Are Present: Women’s Histories of Conflict, Courage, and Survival,” our latest virtual publication. View the resource here.

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Centering Indigenous Experiences

Listen and learn as facilitators and artists discuss their experience with the Coalition’s recently concluded In Dialogue: A Community-Centered Public Art Project Reflecting Tulsa’s Inter-tribal Identity in Mvskoke Territory, which aimed to help the city reimagine new artistic representations of its diverse Native community. View the resource here.

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Strengthening Museums to Foster Resilience

In this Conscience Matters webinar, hear from North American members who participated in the Coalition’s 18-month, IMLS-funded project on supporting museums and historic sites to build social resilience in their communities after Covid-19. View the resource here.

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Language and Terms

Learn the ways you can avoid and confront problematic language in terms in museum collections and archives. View the resource here.

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Considering Dialogue

Presenters consider dialogue used by Sites of Conscience to examine what is necessary for dialogue to be effective. View the resource here.

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Revamping Your Exhibit

In this webinar, learn simple strategies to update your exhibitions and engage your community in the process. View the resource here.

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Redefining the Museum

ICOM has sought to refine its definition of a museum. Join the Coalition in identifying key words and themes that will be shared with ICOM. View the resource here.

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Women and Covid-19

Partners and members discuss the particular hurdles women face during the pandemic and suggest strategies for offering them support. View the resource here.

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Covid-19 and Vulnerable Groups

Members from Sri Lanka, South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina share strategies for helping vulnerable communities during challenging times. View the resource here.

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Vote! – Webinar Short

This session discussed how museums can support ongoing voting in their communities and how they can support a fair tallying of votes. View the resource here.

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Finding Joy – Webinar Short

This session explores how organizations can incorporate the importance of joy into their methodologies with both visitors and staff. View the resource here.

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Evaluating Programs

Coalition staff and members showcase a variety of evaluation methods focused on creating impactful cultural programs. View the resource here.

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Engaging Exhibit Labels

Senior Specialist of Methodology and Practice Linda Norris introduces practical exercises to help Sites of Conscience craft powerful labels for their exhibitions. View the resource here.

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Collecting the Now

Sites of Conscience examine different types of contemporary collecting around civil rights, activism and truth and reconciliation efforts. View the resource here.

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Hosting Dynamic Dialogues

Methodology and Practice Director Braden Paynter shares tools to navigate difficult histories through dialogue-based programming. View the webinar here.

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Wikipedia 101 en Español

Human Rights Wiki Project discute el movimiento por el conocimiento libre y las estrategias para crear atractivas entradas de Wikipedia. Vea el recurso aquí.

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Wikipedia 101

Human Rights Wiki Project discusses the movement for free knowledge and strategies for creating engaging Wikipedia entries. View the resource here.

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Front Page Dialogue

Dialogue on Covid-19

A dialogue guide, written in 2020, on helping communities cope with the challenges posed by Covid-19. View the resource here.

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Front Page Dialogue

Race and Policing

A dialogue guide, written in 2020, intended to assist museum professionals lead productive conversations on race and policing in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. View the resource here.

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Public Historians and the Climate Crisis

In this Conscience Matters webinar, join Braden Paynter, Director of Methodology and Practice, as he speaks to Sites of Conscience members about environmental justice in the context of history and the present. View the resource here.

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Labor and Sites of Conscience

Workers’ rights are human rights the world over. Join the Coalition’s Braden Paynter as he speaks with members about connecting the history of labor to contemporary issues of workers’ rights. View the resource here.

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Toolkit

Taking Action Tour Manual

PEARL S. BUCK INTERNATIONAL This manual was created to help facilitators, tour guides, and staff guide visitors new to the Pearl S. Buck House Museum in…

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Toolkit

The Arc of Dialogue

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY In partnership with Newcastle University, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience provided eight post-graduate students with the opportunity to explore ways that…

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Toolkit

The Troubles and Beyond

NATIONAL MUSEUMS NI This case study provides a summary and evaluation of the work on ‘The Troubles and Beyond’ project between the years of 2014…

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Toolkit

Youth Talk About This!

Youth Talk About This! is a collaborative multimedia storytelling project around HIV/AIDS and its impact on LGBTQ youth. Completed by Coalition member Museum of International Folk Art from July 2013-January 2014, the project was sponsored by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience Project Support Fund and developed in collaboration with Youth Media Project Santa Fe and N’MPower of Albuquerque New Mexico.

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Toolkit

Witnesses and the Changing Goals of Memorialization

Witnesses and the Changing Goals of Memorialization, published in 2016, explores how the selection of who are chosen as witnesses to violence and how they are allowed to participate in memorialization effects memorialization’s ultimate impact on larger society. The article features the work of three Sites of Conscience – Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, Liberation War Museum (Bangladesh), and Monte Sole Peace School (Italy)

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Toolkit

Utopian Dreams on Practical Possibilities

For countries rebuilding in the wake of violence and repression, memorials, museums and places of memory represent a critical terrain where the past is confronted and conflict can be addressed. This article focuses on the work of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and an evaluation of the youth programs of three of its members: the Liberation War Museum in Bangladesh, the Monte Sole Peace School in Italy and the Villa Grimaldi Peace Park in Chile. The evaluation found that the sites had a number of impacts on the young people who visited them, including changing opinions, raising awareness, improving relationships, encouraging civic engagement and increasing emotional understanding of the human consequences of atrocity. The article questions how such impacts relate to wider social processes (for example, human rights reform, violence prevention and transitional justice) and how social and political processes affect the potential for individual and group impacts.

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Toolkit

The Urge to Remember: The Role of Memorials in Social Reconstruction and Transitional Justice

Written in 2007, this report covers the deliberations of the United States Institute for Peace memorialization working group that explored the role of memorialization in promoting, jeopardizing, or impairing social reconstruction and reconciliation in societies emerging from violent conflict. The authors, Ambassadors Circle member Judy Barsalou and Victoria Baxter, provide a matrix of recommendations for actors interested in assisting in using similar processes.

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Toolkit

Speaking of Immigration

A program created by Coalition member State of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, Speaking of Immigration encourages participants to explore how personal values and assumptions about immigrants shape U.S. immigration policy.  The guide provides guidelines and questions for facilitators using historical context as a starting point for the discussion on immigration policy. 

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Toolkit

Shining a Light on Sites of Atrocity: Digital Mapping and Documentation in the Middle East and North Africa

Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), prisons, checkpoints and former clandestine sites of torture are at risk of destruction or deterioration. In response, the Coalition has united Sites of Conscience from seven countries to create a pioneering digital map identifying sites of human rights violations in the region. The Digital Mapping and Documentation in MENA project launched a pilot map in late 2017 that compiles data on critical sites and pinpoints their geographic location. This toolkit is designed to detail the map-building process to allow for pan-regional replication of the model for Coalition members and partners worldwide.

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Toolkit

Sharing Stories, Shaping the Future: Dialogues on SPAÇ

In 2014, Cultural Heritage without Borders began implementation of the project “Sharing Stories, Shaping the Future: Dialogues for Spaç,” with the support of the Coalition. The reports included here document a series of three dialogue-centered planning workshops held with individual and institutional stakeholders to: deepen knowledge and understanding of the Spaç prison as a monument and symbol of the heritage of the Communist regime, propose several functions for the site and to develop a concrete action plan to give life to the chosen proposed functions.

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Toolkit

Safe Containers for Dangerous Memories

Featuring case studies from Coalition members Centro Cultural y Museo de la Memoria (Montevideo, Uruguay), Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation (Fayetteville, New York), and the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice (Durham, North Carolina), this article reviews the revolutionary approaches Sites of Conscience take toward addressing challenging histories and their contemporary legacies in historic house museums.

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Toolkit

Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Incarceration

This report synthesizes observations and interviews completed in evaluating the 2016 Eastern State Penitentiary exhibit, Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Incarceration. This report includes sample observation forms and interview questions, data results, and summaries of the evaluation findings.

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Toolkit

Picturing Coexistence and Conflict

Created by Coalition member, the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) and World Comics India (WCI), this publication features eight-page comics, written by and for the Galle District of Sri Lanka, as a means of fostering meaningful and productive dialogue across religious and ethnic boundaries. Written in English, Sinhalese and Tamil, the comics include the experiences and perspectives of school children, teachers, village leaders, members of village-level women’s groups, journalists and monks on religious and ethnic coexistence.

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Toolkit

National Dialogues on Immigration: An Evaluation Toolkit

Developed for the Coalition’s National Dialogues on Immigration project (2014-2015), this evaluation toolkit was implemented at each of the project’s twenty participating Sites of Conscience to assess the success of each institution’s site-specific dialogue work as well as the collective success of the project

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Toolkit

The Memory Box Initiative: Seeking to Break the Cycle of Violence and Tragedy in Afghanistan

Developed by Coalition member, Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO), the Memory Box initiative provides a space for the victims of Afghanistan to tell their stories of loss and resilience in the face of the country’s violent history of mass murder, genocide, palace revolutions and unrelenting political upheaval. Victims explore their personal and collective histories through a 3-5 day reflective process that results in the creation of physical spaces of remembrance entirely produced by the victims themselves.

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Toolkit

Making Chega! a Reality: Memory and Memorialization in Timor-Leste

Making Chega! A Reality: Memory and Memorialization in Timor-Leste is a report from Coalition’s 2011 Asian Sites of Conscience Regional Meeting.  The report discusses the use of memory as a mechanism to contribute to post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. Held at the invitation of the United National Post Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, the gathering was attended by Coalition members from Bangladesh, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste and the United States.

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Toolkit

If Only It Were That Simple: The Educational Approach of the Monte Sole Peace School

Developed by the Peace School Foundation of Monte Sole, the “laboratory-visit” program is an experiential guided tour of the Monte Sole Historic Park, which utilizes evidence-based history, oral narratives, dialogue questions and reflection. Between September 29 and October 5, 1944, 800 people in more than 100 places in the area were killed by Nazi SS troops with the help of Italian fascist elements. In addition to discussing the program’s educational pedagogy, the article contains a detailed description of the tour and a bibliography of resources.

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Toolkit

I Have the Right Club

A dialogue program outline for use with youth ages 15 to 16 years old, I Have the Right Club was written by the Gulag Museum at Perm-36 in Russia (2009). The outline guides facilitators through a dialogue around freedom and other broad human

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Toolkit

Harnessing the Power of History

THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF SITES OF CONSCIENCE Founder and Board Member Emeritus Ruth J. Abram describes the founding and early defining principles of the International…

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Toolkit

From Memory to Action: A Toolkit for Memorialization

An in-depth exploration of the challenges, successes and best practices related to memorialization in post-conflict settings, this toolkit is a collaborative effort by Sites of Conscience members from a variety of post-conflict settings including Bangladesh, Russia, East Timor, Chile, Liberia and Northern Ireland.

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Toolkit

Environmental & Climate Justice Dialogue Guide

Created by Coalition member Raphael Ortiz Latino Cultural Center, the Environmental & Climate Justice Dialogue Guide provides guidelines for facilitators in discussing environmental and climate issues with their communities through participants’ diverse cultural values and environment friendly practices. The guide is written in three parts including a discussion of the key concepts for civic dialogue, sample dialogue models and tips and resources.

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Toolkit

Conversations on Courage

An evaluative study of Conversations on Courage, dialogues conducted by the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, North Carolina around their exhibit, Courage: The Carolina Story that Changed America. The study captures the knowledge, reflections and attitudes of 792 participants, 62 groups, and 38 organizations, including leaders from Charlotte’s corporate, civic and government sectors, that participated in Conversations on Courage from February 1 – May 31, 2004.

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Toolkit

Conversation Guide on Dealing with the Past

Produced by Sites of Conscience member, Healing Through Remembering, this Conversation Guide provides dialogue parameters and questions for communities grappling with the past conflict in and about Northern Ireland. The Guide is written for facilitators and others with group facilitation skills interested in supporting individuals and groups on the issue of dealing with the past and remembering.

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Toolkit

Citizenship and Memories: Using Sites of Conscience to Teach Human Rights

Corporacion Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi gathered academics and practitioners for a seminar and workshop in 2010 to consider the role of Sites of Conscience in the construction of a democratic society. This publication includes the presentations from that gathering, covering Villa Grimaldi’s and other Sites of Conscience approaches to how to create spaces that promote democratic debate and how to build collective memory of difficult histories. The report is only available in Spanish.

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Toolkit

Carte Del Norte

Carta del Norte Una Historia de Migracion includes two publications from the Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen (MUPI) which describe the immigration experience from El Salvador to the United States as part of their Memory of Migration Program. The publications contain facts and images about the migration from El Salvador to the United States, letters from a parent in the U.S. to their child in El Salvador, and lesson plans on how to use these resources with students.

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Toolkit

Building Peace By Teaching Peace

Created by Coalition member Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, this toolkit assists teachers and peace educators on conducting peace education with school-age children and youth.  The toolkit  includes planning activities and check lists, personal narratives of historic events and evaluation processes.

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Toolkit

Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation

This toolkit was written by the Coalition’s Secretariat to accompany Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, an exhibit created by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). It provides basic grounding in the methodology behind facilitated dialogue, including the crafting of evocative questions, the use of appropriate dialogue techniques and suggested facilitator responses. Additionally, there are three program models to open new conversations about immigration, identity, race and social justice.

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