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I think after nearly three lovely years, my resilient little netbook is finally beginning to feel its age. I am begging it please not to die, at least not before I finish my three final papers thankyouverymuch...
That aside though, today has been an AMAZING day, because I just had my final colloquium of the semester, and it was something unquestionably special. One of the directors of CIRMA, my school, gave us an introductory presentation about this incredible project that they have been working on for over a year: a "virtual museum of historical memory". Basically, it is an interactive archival museum on the internet, containing information about all of the major eras since the formation of Guatemala as a nation. Each part is then elaborated not just with summaries, but also with recorded interviews of the people involved in decisionmaking and everyday citizens who are telling their stories, photographs taken from major archives in the country (mostly CIRMA's), excerpts of related documents and materials, and even film clips when they are available. They are also hoping to provide information about daily life during those times, and also about events that were occurring simultaneously throughout the world.
It is an ENORMOUS project, and CIRMA is also hoping to encourage outside involvement as people feel more courage and also *desire* to tell their stories and add it to a database, a collection of Living Memory. They are trying to display the information in a straightforward but non-linear way, such that people can explore what interests them and begin to think critically about history and the sequence of events; the development of a present situation based on what came before, as a collaboration of occurrences, but not on a strict timeline with a set beginning and an end.
They are trying to involve local experts to contribute documents and expertise, and also to involve younger people and students, because as a general rule, the truth of the genocide that occurred in Guatemala is by and large not being taught in schools, and among the many that remember or were affected, there are far too many who feel threatened to speak out, or even to acknowledge their experiences. I talked to a man in the park about a week ago who said his brother was assassinated *four years ago*, ten years after the signing of peace accords, because he ran a café/restaurant that ran showings of films about the internal conflict. This country is silenced, and therefore young people, the majority of the nation, are kept in ignorance. This database is trying to catch the attention of youth, to express history as something that is not only interesting and engaging (through a variety of media, not just words and names in books), but also to give them some sort of conception of their past and some intellectual tools to help them avoid a reignited conflict. Guatemala: Nunca Más, is a concept that you hear repeated over again, to avoid the repetition of the horrors that have occurred. But in many ways there is still a war of terror, a repression of freedoms, and it is projects like this, those that aim to retain memory, to avoid whitewashing the past and erasing the slate--that are the primary combatants against the menace of forced forgetting.
..So basically, have I mentioned that my school is SO COOL? It's so cool. I can't believe how awesome and ambitious this project is.
This morning I was kind of feeling meh about having to do hours in the archive this afternoon, but the presentation reinspired me and now I can't wait to go and play an [albeit small] part in the preservation work of this awesome little institution. :)
Aaand now I'm going to be late for lunch. Meep.
That aside though, today has been an AMAZING day, because I just had my final colloquium of the semester, and it was something unquestionably special. One of the directors of CIRMA, my school, gave us an introductory presentation about this incredible project that they have been working on for over a year: a "virtual museum of historical memory". Basically, it is an interactive archival museum on the internet, containing information about all of the major eras since the formation of Guatemala as a nation. Each part is then elaborated not just with summaries, but also with recorded interviews of the people involved in decisionmaking and everyday citizens who are telling their stories, photographs taken from major archives in the country (mostly CIRMA's), excerpts of related documents and materials, and even film clips when they are available. They are also hoping to provide information about daily life during those times, and also about events that were occurring simultaneously throughout the world.
It is an ENORMOUS project, and CIRMA is also hoping to encourage outside involvement as people feel more courage and also *desire* to tell their stories and add it to a database, a collection of Living Memory. They are trying to display the information in a straightforward but non-linear way, such that people can explore what interests them and begin to think critically about history and the sequence of events; the development of a present situation based on what came before, as a collaboration of occurrences, but not on a strict timeline with a set beginning and an end.
They are trying to involve local experts to contribute documents and expertise, and also to involve younger people and students, because as a general rule, the truth of the genocide that occurred in Guatemala is by and large not being taught in schools, and among the many that remember or were affected, there are far too many who feel threatened to speak out, or even to acknowledge their experiences. I talked to a man in the park about a week ago who said his brother was assassinated *four years ago*, ten years after the signing of peace accords, because he ran a café/restaurant that ran showings of films about the internal conflict. This country is silenced, and therefore young people, the majority of the nation, are kept in ignorance. This database is trying to catch the attention of youth, to express history as something that is not only interesting and engaging (through a variety of media, not just words and names in books), but also to give them some sort of conception of their past and some intellectual tools to help them avoid a reignited conflict. Guatemala: Nunca Más, is a concept that you hear repeated over again, to avoid the repetition of the horrors that have occurred. But in many ways there is still a war of terror, a repression of freedoms, and it is projects like this, those that aim to retain memory, to avoid whitewashing the past and erasing the slate--that are the primary combatants against the menace of forced forgetting.
..So basically, have I mentioned that my school is SO COOL? It's so cool. I can't believe how awesome and ambitious this project is.
This morning I was kind of feeling meh about having to do hours in the archive this afternoon, but the presentation reinspired me and now I can't wait to go and play an [albeit small] part in the preservation work of this awesome little institution. :)
Aaand now I'm going to be late for lunch. Meep.
