International Network of Museums
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International Network of Peace Museums
The International Peace Museums Network was created in 1992
during the International Conference which brought together for the first time
the management and staff of peace museums, anti-war museums and similar
institutions worldwide.
(What is a Peace Museum?)
The Conference was held in 1992 in Bradford (England) and arranged by a British
association, "Give Peace a Chance". Over 30 representatives from peace
museums in 10 countries (including Australia, Japan and the United States) met
up to exchange experiences and make a start on future cooperation.
The objective of this network is to create links between peace museums, related
institutions and individuals worldwide to encourage exchange of information,
material, exhibitions, set up joint exhibitions to spread know-how etc. It also
intends to encourage the creation of more peace museums in other parts of the
world.
Four more conferences have been held since this first encounter. The second
conference was held at the Austrian Centre of Studies for Peace and Resolution
of Conflicts, the headquarters of the European Peace Museum as of the year 2000,
in Stadtschlaining (1995). The third encounter was arranged by a number of
Japanese museums in Osaka and Kyoto (1998) with the motto "The contribution
of museums to world peace", whilst the motto of the fourth Conference was
"From memories of war to education for peace", and was held in Ostend
(Flanders, Belgium) in the spring of 2003 with the assistance of the Flemish
Government.
The fifth Conference was held in Gernika-Lumo, Spain and was hosted by Gernika
Peace Museum.
The theme of the fifth conference was "Peace Museums: A contribution to
remembrance, reconciliation, art and peace"
We chose this motto because the Gernika Peace Museum, like many other peace
museums throughout the world, wishes to make a small but valuable social
contribution to remembrance - since they are often located in places of
remembrance (as in Guernica), to real and lasting reconciliation between
"victors and vanquished", to art (as a form of expression of events
and the hope for a better future - Picasso's "Guernica" being one of
the world's best examples), and to the culture of peace in general.
The Conference covered three main topics in relation to the theme.
1: The contribution of art to a culture of peace.
2: Peace Museums, seeds of reconciliation
in the world.
3: The importance of remembrance to build a world in peace.
The members of the network keep in touch and exchange
information via a newssheet, 15 of which have been published to date. The newssheet
is sent to over 125 peace museums, similar institutions and other persons
active in such fields.
The international network was also very much involved in drawing up the first
peace museum directory, known as Peace Museums Worldwide. It was published in
1995 by the United Nations Library in Geneva, a second edition was produced in
1998, and there are plans for a further edition in the near future.
In December 1998, the green light was given for the International Peace Museums
Network to receive NGO status in association with the United Nations Department
of Public Information in New York.
The International Peace Museums Network is now working to secure its
institutional aspects, drawing up a financial budget and obtaining a location
for its headquarters.
The general coordinator of the International Peace Museums Network (and editor
of the newssheet) is Peter van den Dungen, of Bradford University's Department
of Peace Studies.
