15 September 2016
More than 30 artists, lawyers and activists discuss Human Rights Violations, Torture, and Methods of Addressing Past Wrongs
Symposium 29 September – 1 October 2016
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, Berlin
“Memory and Justice” – this is the central theme for Estela de Carlotto, Thomas Walther, Anwar al-Bunni and Milo Rau, as well as the other participants of the “Memory and Justice” symposium hosted by the Akademie der Künste and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) from 29 September to 1 October 2016 in Berlin.
Estela de Carlotto, long-term president of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, has been actively involved in the fight against impunity for dictatorship crimes in Argentina ever since her daughter “disappeared” in 1977. German lawyer Thomas Walther has dedicated his career to the investigation of Nazi crimes, first as a prosecutor and later as a lawyer for Holocaust survivors in proceedings in Germany. Lawyer Anwar al-Bunni spent many years defending those facing political persecution in Syria and is now working from Berlin, hoping to bring about prosecutions of those responsible for grave crimes committed in the context of the Syrian conflict. Colonial crimes and contemporary wars in Africa and Europe are recurrent themes in the work of Swiss theatre/film director and journalist Milo Rau.
These four guests are representative of the more than 30 participating artists, lawyers and activists from all over the world who seek to address mass violence and mass crimes in their work. As part of the two-and-a-half-day symposium “Memory and Justice”, these guests will be exploring interdisciplinary debates – spanning various epochs and regions – on trials, public inquiries and other responses to grave crimes and the extent of civil society participation in these processes.
Central questions of this symposium will include: What role do torture and mass crimes play in the collective memory? What tools and techniques can be used to assess current and historical human rights crimes? What are the cultural and political consequences of impunity and public silence about grave crimes? And finally, what is the link between courtroom trials and a civil society culture of remembering?
The programme is curated by Wolfgang Kaleck, General Secretary of ECCHR and includes podium discussions, film screenings, readings and an exhibition of artistic works.
A joint project by the Akademie der Künste and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung)
Participants:
Jeanine Meerapfel, President, Akademie der Künste
Thomas Krüger, President, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
Wolfgang Kaleck, General Secretary, ECCHR
Anwar al-Bounni, Lawyer, Activist (Berlin)
Sylvestre Bisimwa, Lawyer (Bukavu)
Beatriz Brinkmann, Activist (Santiago de Chile)
Reed Brody, Human Rights Lawyer, and lead counsel for the victims against former dictator Hissène Habré (New York)
Estela de Carlotto, Activist, President of the association
Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo (Buenos Aires)
Omar D., Photographer (Paris/Algiers)
Andreas Fanizadeh, Journalist (Berlin)
Juan Garcés, Lawyer, and Chief Lawyer in judicial proceedings against Pinochet (Madrid)
Martin Glasenapp, Former Officer for Syria at the
NGO medico international (Berlin)
Erich Hackl, Author (Vienna)
Scott Horton, Human Rights Lawyer and Author,
Harper’s Magazine (New York)
Patrick Kroker, Lawyer, ECCHR (Berlin)
Gila Lustiger, Author (Paris)
Sara Méndez, Activist and survivor of the Operation Condor (Uruguay)
Jasmina Musić, Actress (Dortmund)
Orit Nahmias, Actress, Gorki Theatre (Berlin)
Milo Rau, Director (Cologne)
Knut Rauchfuss, Doctor and Journalist,
Refugees medical care (Bochum)
Kathrin Röggla, Author and Vice President, Akademie der Künste (Berlin)
Rüdiger Rossig, Journalist (Berlin)
Beate Rudolf, Legal Scholar and Director of the
Institute for Human Rights (Berlin)
Fabiana Rousseaux, Psychologist (Buenos Aires)
Volker Schlöndorff, Film Director (Potsdam), tbc
Mark Sealy, Photographer and Curator (London)
Peter Seibert, Literary Scholar (Kassel)
Ronen Steinke, Author and Journalist (Munich)
Karina Theurer, Legal Scholar and Editor (Berlin)
Claire Tixeire, Legal Scholar, ECCHR (Berlin)
Ilija Trojanow, Author (Berlin)
Najem Wali, Author (Berlin)
Thomas Walther, Lawyer and joint plaintiff representative in
Nazi trials (Kempten)
Peter Weiss, Lawyer (New York)
Gerhard Werle, Legal Scholar (Berlin)
Rosa Yassin Hassan, Author and Activist (Hamburg)
Artists:
Forensic Architecture (London)
Silvina Der-Meguerditchian (Berlin)
Eduardo Molinari (Buenos Aires)
Nghia Nuyen (Berlin)
Symposium Details
Memory and Justice
An Exchange between Art, Law and Civil Society on Human Rights Violations, Torture, and Methods of Addressing Past Wrongs
Thursday 29 September – Saturday 1 October 2016
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin
Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-2000
Free admission
Detailed programme at http://gedaechtnis-und-gerechtigkeit.de