More than a dozen people and projects involved in gathering personal narratives and stories have set up a network designed to cater for people and projects documenting experiences and history relating to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland.

‘The Stories Network’, which is a new initiative, will encourage practitioners, contributers and researchers to learn from each other, share expertise and experience and promote good practice, according to Kate Turner, Director of Healing Through Remembering the organisation which is currently hosting the Network.  The Network is supported by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the EU’s PEACE III Programme for Peace and Reconciliation managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

She said: “It is about bringing together people and projects which are interested in or involved with sharing of stories and personal narratives relating to the conflict here. “Both story gathering and storytelling are used to help the divisions of the past by talking about it, writing about it and sharing experiences.

“We want the network to promote links between projects, those that have been completed, as well as those that are planned, and to attract as diverse a membership as possible.

Claire Hackett, a founder member of the network said “Any group that adheres to the Healing through Remembering ethical principles on storytelling and personal narrative as a foundation for their work can join the network.”

Sean Pettis, another founder member, said “The network intends to hold quarterly meetings that will allow it to respond to the local political and social context as it evolves.”

Kate Turner said: “To be as active as it can be and to hold regular seminars and events relating to the sharing of stories and personal narratives about the conflict, we need the network to be as wide-ranging as we can make it.”

The following projects are the initial members of The Stories Network:

• Accounts of the Conflict, INCORE;
• WAVE Trauma Centre, Storytelling Projects;
• The Recovering of Living Memory Archive Project, Pat Finucane Centre;
• Prison Memory Archive;
• Five Decades Project, Forthspring;
• Border Roads to Memories and Reconciliation;
• Upstanding, Corrymeela;
• Glórtha Aduaidh;
• RUC George Cross Foundation Oral History Project;
• Border Lives Project;
• Peace Process Layers of Meaning Project;
• Dúchas Project;
• Pieces of the Past Project;
• Mixed Emotions, NIMMA; and,
• Sharp Focus: Crossing the Divide.

Anyone interested in joining The Stories Network should contact Sarah at Healing Through Remembering (projectcoord@healingthroughremembering.org, tel: 02890238844)