Knowledge Exchange Seminar - 13 Jan 2016 - DEALING WITH THE PAST: COMMEMORATION AND VICTIMS

“Promoting evidence-led policy and law-making within Northern Ireland” – that is the underlying aim of the Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series (KESS). KESS is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, formally partnering a legislative arm of government – the Assembly - with academia. Aiming to encourage debate and improve understanding, KESS provides a forum to present and disseminate academic research findings in a straightforward format, on issues that are relevant to the Programme for Government. It seeks to bring the findings to the attention of key participants and decision-makers in the policy and law-making processes in Northern Ireland, such as MLAs and Assembly committees, as well as the wider public sector. 

Embedded in the KESS model are: the local universities via their academics; Assembly committees via their Chairpersons; the Assembly’s Research and Information Service (RaISe) via its Researchers; and, a broad spectrum of attendees. (Attendees include: MLAs and their staff; political party staff; Assembly and Departmental officials; others from the public and private sectors; academics; voluntary and community groups; and, members of the public.) For this reason, KESS creates unique engagement opportunities; and importantly provides a ‘pathway’ for more, in-depth discussion at a later date about findings presented at KESS. 

The Series is jointly delivered by RaISe, in partnership with all three universities located in Northern Ireland (NI) – the Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB - co-founder in 2011), Ulster University (Ulster - in 2012) and The Open University (OU - in 2013). 

Seminars are free and are held on Wednesdays from October 2015 through June 2016. Each seminar starts at 1.30pm in Parliament Buildings, located on Stormont Estate. Most seminars cover a range of themes under one broad heading – see below for relevant dates and timings. On arrival, delegates receive a seminar pack that includes the academics’ policy briefings and power point presentations, including contact information. 

Tea/coffee is provided following presentations and discussion. Free parking is available to all. Kindly allow time to pass through Assembly Security upon entry to Parliament Buildings; and ensure that you specify your special needs (for example, wheelchair accessibility) when registering. The Assembly is committed to fulfilling its equality-related roles and responsibilities and will take reasonable efforts to meet requests relating to them.

To reserve your place at a seminar, email [email protected].

13 January 2016

DEALING WITH THE PAST: COMMEMORATION AND VICTIMS  

Dr Marie Coleman and Dr Dominic Bryan (QUB) - Northern Ireland’s 2016: Approaching the contested commemoration of the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme

The centenaries of the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme will be commemorated in Northern Ireland in 2016. These two events have important historical and political resonance with the nationalist and unionist communities respectively. The significance of such anniversaries is recognised in the Northern Ireland Executive’s community relations strategy document, ‘Together: Building a United Community’:

‘The decade we have just entered will include a number of potentially sensitive anniversaries which we cannot ignore within the context of this Strategy. The events of our past will inevitably have economic and social impacts for us now and the way in which these events are marked will also have a significant influence on our continued journey towards a united community.’

This presentation draws on the work of an inter-disciplinary research network including academics, government representatives (from the Office of First Minister and deputy First Minister, the Northern Ireland Office and the Republic of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), local authority Good Relations Officers, as well as Healing Through Remembering and the Community Relations Council. The presentation delivers findings of the network’s research about how the 2016 commemorations could be approached in Northern Ireland, focusing on three key research themes:

1.      The nature and purpose of commemoration.

2.      Comparative contested commemorations in an Irish and an international context.

3.      Shared engagement with a contested past through education. 

Dr Luke Moffett (QUB) - A pension for those seriously injured during the Troubles: Repairing the past 

Victims who have been seriously injured during the Troubles/conflict in and around Northern Ireland have often been forgotten in redressing their daily suffering when dealing with the past. Many continue to live with debilitating injuries and chronic pain, facing financial insecurity and failing health as they enter old age. A pension for seriously injured victims has been suggested in the Stormont House Agreement, to alleviate their continuing suffering. To bring this into law, a current private member’s bill aims to secure a pension for those seriously injured through the Northern Ireland Assembly. This presentation seeks to provide some context and possible legal options in addressing who is eligible to claim such reparations and how to deal with individuals with a criminal record who were seriously injured in Northern Ireland. The presentation draws upon the experience of other countries in how they have delivered reparations to seriously injured victims and dealt with seriously injured perpetrators, as well as legal requirements under European directives and case law from the European Court and Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This research is based on comparative legal analysis of reparation laws in different contexts, work on reparations with different victim groups in Northern Ireland, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and the International Criminal Court.