Partner organisations

There are seven partner organisations in the DisTerrMem consortium: four educational institutions and three non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

University of Bath

The University of Bath in the UK is the lead partner, with researchers from the Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies. The team approaches questions of historical memory from a variety of perspectives. Some researchers have a background in the study of cultural memory (literature, film, museums), while others approach the issue from the perspective of political science, memory studies and international relations. The Department hosts Research Clusters on the Politics of Culture and Memory, Conflict and Security and Gender and Sexuality. Researchers have strong interests in conflict and security, including conflict resolution and peace-building, and have worked closely with NGOs and civil society groups representing victims of terrorism and dictatorship respectively.

Project lead & overall project coordinator: Christina Horvath

University of Warsaw

The University of Warsaw is one of two partners in Poland. The University’s Faculty of Sociology is a leading research organisation in its field and specialises in the sociology of ethnic and national relations (with special emphasis on conflict situations) and the sociology of collective memory. It is home to the Social Memory Laboratory, and hosts a series of international conferences on Genealogies of Memory in Central and Eastern Europe in cooperation with European Network Remembrance and Solidarity. The University is also home to the Centre for Deliberation, an interdisciplinary research centre that focuses on issues of communication in democracy.

Project lead: Tomasz Rawski

Fundacja Pogranicze / Borderland Foundation

The second Poland-based partner is Fundacja Pogranicze (Borderland Foundation). Founded in 1990, Borderland is an independent, non-governmental organisation which seeks to develop and share new forms of cultural, educational and artistic practice to promote the co-existence of people living with strong cultural, ethnic, generational, ideological and other types of diversity. The Foundation also runs the International Centre for Dialogue at Krasnogruda and The Borderland Cultures Documentation Centre in Sejny. Research activity explores themes of social engagement in art, education in multicultural contexts, and social and cultural transformations in Central Europe in the twentieth century.

Project lead: Weronika Czyżewska-Poncyljusz

National Academy of Sciences of Armenia

The third academic partner is the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, with researchers from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography. The team are social and cultural anthropologists with a strong interest in communities affected by the aftermath of war and genocide, and with a particular focus on contested territories in the region. In addition, the Academy is home to the non-governmental organisation Hazarashen, which conducts oral history projects with a special emphasis on peace and reconciliation.

Project lead: Harutyun Marutyan

Educational and Cultural Bridges

Also based in Armenia is Educational and Cultural Bridges, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 2013. Its activities focus on international exchange, peace-building, community-building, anti-discrimination and on fostering social participation, inclusion and collaboration. Alongside its volunteers, it maintains a pool of trainers who work on human rights issues in community settings. The organisation is well-networked with NGOs and policymakers in Armenia and in the European Union, and maintains strong contacts with local Armenian media and with Armenian universities.

Project lead: Arpine Kostanyan

Forman Christian College

Forman Christian College (a chartered university) is the fourth educational institution partner and is based in Lahore, Pakistan. Researchers from the Faculty of Political Science offer a range of expertise in the politics of ethnic and religious conflict, both from a political science perspective and within a comparative historical framework. They regularly organise international conferences bringing together researchers from the US and representatives of local universities, and are widely networked with local and regional civil society groups, NGOs and policymakers.

Project lead: Dr Muhammad Younis

Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės institutas / Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The third NGO partner, the Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - based in Kaunas - works to share the history and legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as well as organising research on its history and on the countries which, territorially and culturally, are related to it (Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine).

Project lead: Tomasz Blaszczak