Gernika¥s 17th international convention on culture and peace
Presentation

“Gernika, the Guernica and the other Gernikas. Peace Symbology”

Gernika Gogoratuz in its 17th International Convention on Culture and Peace, will exhibit the symbolic contributions towards peace building which take place in Gernika, and in other parts of the world. The aim of Gernika Gogoratuz is to enrich the symbol of Gernika by means of actions and reflections for peace of a local character and with a universal vocation. In the framework of this the 20th Anniversary of Gernika Gogoratuz and the 70th Anniversary of the Bombing of Gernika we want to strengthen the symbolic axis which unites the memory of and commitment to peace. Memory serves to guard the symbols of peace and commitment is needed to reveal the violence that is being instigated and promoted in the other Gernikas. The art of remembering Gernika starts with the historic memory and is then passed on by the legacy of the surviving witnesses of the bombing of Gernika trying to ensure that, that which can never be forgotten, will never be repeated, and where by means of a Collective Memory the accounts of the victims will have there place. A commitment to Peace that reminds us of the importance the media as a key element in Peace Culture, and revindicates the role played by reporters as active agents in Peace Building. A commitment to Peace which considers denunciation through art to be a peace pedagogy, recalling Picasso's "Guernica" which revealed the horror of violence and war against defenceless civilian populations. A commitment to Peace which motivates democratic participation through the interaction of the local with the global and vice versa to deepen the understanding of diversity as a constructive element for learning to coexist in difference.

* Gernika, City of Peace, symbolic contributions.
* Victims and Collective Memory.
* 'Guernica' denunciation through art.
* The role of the media in Peace Culture. Peace correspondents.
* Other 'Gernikas'. History and the present. The other conflicts, the forgotten conflicts.
* Local participation and global development. Peace building.