As part of our partnership with forum zfd, LAH actively participated in the seminar organized by the forum, on September 23, 2016, with representatives of youth organisations of several Lebanese political parties. The seminar aimed at opening a constructive dialogue about their particular role in memorialization and learning about the past.
Building upon the idea that the leaders and members of the youth organizations are the future leaders of the country and therefore have a notably impact on the history writing of tomorrow, the seminar aimed to provide a platform for critically reflecting on differences in historical narratives, cultures of remembrance and the individual role in responsibly learning about the past.
Dr. Mara Albrecht and LAH member Dr. Bassel Akar presented the main findings of their research report “Power of Remembrance – Political Parties, Memory and Learning about the Past in Lebanon”. Instead of focussing on the ideal of a single and unique narrative of historical events, the research team introduced a disciplinary approach for learning about the past. This alternative approach builds upon critically reviewing and examining multiple historical interpretations as a starting point for conducting a history book in school education.
The seminar took place at the University Saint Joseph in collaboration with Dr. Bassel Akar from the Center for Applied Research in Education at NDU (CARE), the Lebanese Association for History (LAH), the department of History and UIR Memoire (CEMAM) of University Saint Joseph and Dr. Mara Albrecht from Erfurt University in Germany. LAH was represented by Nayla Hamadeh who co-facilitated the sessions.