MEMORIES, TERRITORIES AND POSSIBLE FUTURES: COMMUNITIES, RIGHTS AND PEACEBUILDING IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAS
Collective memories constitute one of the primary arenas from which American societies interpret their past, contest the meaning of their historical experiences, and build horizons for the future. Far from being merely an exercise of evocation, memory acts as a political, cultural and social resource that influences the shaping of collective identities, the defense of territories, struggles for recognition, and the formulation of projects for social transformation. In this sense, memories not only allow us to understand what societies have been, but also to imagine and build what they can become.
The Americas currently face complex challenges related to the persistence of historical inequalities, the effects of armed conflicts and political violence, the exclusion of ethnic and rural groups, territorial disputes, and tensions arising from development models. Faced with these challenges, indigenous, Afro-descendant, peasant and other historically marginalized communities have developed memory practices, territorial knowledge and forms of collective action that constitute important sources of social and political innovation.
From this perspective, the symposium proposes to understand the relationships among memory, territory, human rights, peacebuilding and institutional transformation, paying special attention to the ways in which communities mobilize their historical experiences to build responses to contemporary challenges and project fairer, more democratic and sustainable futures.
General objective
To understand how the collective memories of historically excluded communities influence contemporary processes, the defense of rights, collective action, institutional transformation, and peacebuilding in the Americas.
Specific objectives
* Discuss the relationships among memory, collective identity and political action across diverse territorial contexts.
* Learn about experiences of resistance and peacebuilding driven by indigenous, Afro-descendant, peasant and other historically marginalized groups.
* Reflect on the role of collective memories in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public policies related to human rights, participation and territorial development.
* Identify innovative experiences of articulation among communities, social organizations and state institutions.
* Promote interdisciplinary exchange of theoretical and methodological perspectives on memory, territory and social transformation.
Guiding questions
* In what ways do collective memories influence contemporary struggles for recognition and the guarantee of rights?
* How do memory practices contribute to building positive peace and reconstructing the social fabric?
* What tensions and opportunities emerge in the relationship between community memories and state institutions?
* How do territorial and ancestral knowledges dialogue with public policies and governance processes?
* How can collective memories become resources for imagining and building more inclusive, democratic and sustainable futures?
Other suggested topics
* Collective memories, identities and intergenerational transmission of knowledge.
* Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant communities: territories, resistances and claims.
* Historical memory, armed conflict, internal violence (unrest and internal disturbances) and peacebuilding.
* Human rights, transitional institutional design and collective reparation.
* Territory, dispossession, restitution and defense of the commons.
* Political participation, collective action and citizenship.
* Ancestral knowledge, local knowledge and alternative development models.
* Public policy, territorial governance and capacity
