Round Table Discussion "Belarussian Necropols as "Sites of Memory"

Round Table Discussion on the topic "Belarussian Necropols as "Sites of Memory" will take place in State Literature Janka Kupala Museum (J. Kupaly street, 4? Minsk) on April 18th, 20014 at 11.00

Organizators are the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, Institute of Culture of Belarus, Belarussiav Commitee of ICOMOS, "Cultural Heritage and Modernity" Foundation.

The event is held in the framework of International Day for Monuments and Sites. The main theme of this year is "The Heritage of Commemoration".

This choice of theme is partly inspired by the centennial in 2014 of the beginning of the Great War of 1914-1918. Due to the unprecedented scale of destruction and its international reach, this great tragedy of the Modern Era led societies to adopt a new form of commemoration, more centred on the notion of sacrifice and the individual identity of the innumerable victims rather than events and heroic personalities. This led to the creation of a distinctive heritage of monuments and sites, created for the sole purpose of commemoration.

The heritage of commemoration takes a variety of forms: engraved inscriptions, mausoleums of exceptional architecture or works of monumental sculpture, more modest elements reflecting vernacular traditions or dedicated landscapes such as cemeteries or memorial gardens. This heritage also includes elements that were given a commemorative value; for example, ruins or industrial vestiges accompanied by dedication plaques, or public squares whose toponymy commemorates a historical event or individual. Many of the cultural sites on the World Heritage List have a commemorative purpose: