Heritage

32 heritage for peace and reconciliation | manual for teacherContentsMr Feltman is among the more than 50 scheduled speakers participating in the SecurityCouncil’s thematic debate on ‘War, its lessons, and the search for a permanent peace’.He stressed that reconciliation, which can be encouraged and enabled by the internationalcommunity, has to come from internal processes, and noted the importance ofestablishing a UN repository of comparative knowledge and experience on reconciliation.He added that the responsibility for reconciliation rests with national actors, aswell as assistance from the international community.‘Leaders need to set the example, not just in ceasing war-time rhetoric and ending theintentional promotion of grievances, but also by deeds of genuine cooperation andhonest examination of their own roles in conflict’, Mr Feltman said.Turning to the role of youth, who in a post-war environment often grow up to bemore extreme than their parents, he stressed the importance of working with parentsand teachers to develop a history curriculum that encompasses different interpretationsof conflicts.‘This could form the beginning of developing a shared narrative and establishingpoints of convergence in people’s experiences and thinking’, Mr Feltman said.He highlighted the conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan andSyria, where the urgently needed physical end to war will not produce lasting peaceand security. Among positive examples, Mr Feltman commended the recent completionof the National Dialogue in Yemen, which was part of the country’s politicaltransition agreement. He noted that reconciliation cannot substitute for justice, butthat the reverse is also true, as examples from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda showthat international tribunals cannot substitute for national reconciliation.Suggested student exerciseHave your students discuss reconciliation using examples such as those of the sinkingof the Lusitania and Gustloff, or of the destruction of Coventry, Dresden or Hiroshima.How important is reconciliation to peace building and peace preservation? Is reconciliationpossible? What is reconciliation and how do society and individuals respondto the question of reconciliation?What does the Centenary of the First World War mean in this regard? Why do wecommemorate it 100 years later? Does the commemoration change our understandingof the present or the future, or even our appreciation of the past?