Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Namibia: mass graves

Since it is a country that get very little focus I thought I would post a link to a recent article on Namibia. There has been an ongoing process of uncovering and discovering mass graves said to be those of SWAPO soldiers. The events seem to have sparked a debate about transitional justice options there. To date, the SWAPO government has preferred to attempt to draw a line under the sand. Some NGOs are calling for a truth commission. The recent article was published in the Sunday Times and can be accessed by clicking here. I also posted this on a new blog that I am part of called the Transitional Justice Forum.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Doogle

OK, its Monday morning and sometimes you gotta just laugh. Here is a new search engine, presumably care of Craggy Island, www.doogle.org.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Conference: Storytelling as The Vehicle?

Following the launch of the Healing Through Remembering (HTR) Storytelling Audit in October, HTR are hosting a one-day conference on Storytelling entitled "Storytelling as The Vehicle?". The one-day event will take place on Tuesday 29th November in the Dunadry Hotel and will run from 9am to 5pm.

Two keynote speakers, Samsun Munn and Kevin Whelan, will address key topics, "Storytelling and Encounter" and "History, Memory and Testimony", with the aim of encouraging debate and discussion. The main objective of the conference is discussion and dialogue amongst those present in trying to answer some of the questions raised by the issue of storytelling, especially the concept of a collective storytelling process to deal with the legacy of the conflict in and about Northern Ireland.

The conference is targeted at those both working in the field of storytelling/ personal narrative and related areas and also those who have an interest in the role of storytelling in dealing with the past relating to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. For more information click here.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Facts about Jozie

Was surfing about some of my favourite blogs and came across some statistics on Johannesburg on Fodder. Fodder notes that Johannesburg is the only major city in the world that was not founded near a major water source such as a river or ocean; it is the largest urban forest in the world with 6 million trees and that 40% of the world's gold has been mined in Johannesburg. Food for thought indeed.