A University of Ulster research team are beginning a project to explore issues around victims, survivors and commemoration in post-conflict Northern Ireland.

 Professor Tom Fraser, Emeritus Professor based at INCORE, is the Principal Investigator and will lead the team, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The Magee-based researchers plan to document the developments that have taken place in this subject area since 1997.  The team will make all the information that is collected during the project available through the existing CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet - cain.ulst.ac.uk) web site.  

While most of the work will relate to the conflict within Northern Ireland, the team will also be looking at how this issue has been approached in the Republic of Ireland and Britain.

Professor Fraser said:  “I am delighted that we have received this important award.  The funding will allow my team the opportunity to explore the issues surrounding victims, survivors and commemoration in some depth.  At the end of the project we will have compiled an on-line digital archive that will be of benefit to a wide range of people both in Northern Ireland and further afield.”  Professor Fraser went on to say that:  “The AHRC award is a prestigious one for the University of Ulster which was secured against stiff competition across the whole of the UK.”

Currently there is some information on the topics of victims and commemoration at the CAIN web site.  However, the research team plan to greatly expand this with an extensive on-line digital archive of source materials and information.  

Part of the work will involve seeking permission to gather and compile information and material that is presently held by a large number of organisations and individuals.  Where this information is currently only available in paper form the researchers will seek to convert this into a digital format.  In addition to existing information the project will also generate new material.  For example, the team plan to compile a searchable database of information and photographs on the physical monuments to the victims of the conflict.

By the end of the project the process by which society in Northern Ireland has so far addressed the complex issues surrounding victims, survivors and commemoration will be freely and readily available to a world-wide audience through the CAIN web site.  

The lessons learnt in Northern Ireland will be of interest not only to an academic audience but also to policy makers, non-governmental organisations, community leaders and others.

---NOTES FOR EDITORS---

1.  The funding comes from an academic research council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).  This is funding that is only available to academic institutions; it is therefore not money that would otherwise have gone directly to, for example, victims’ groups.

2.  The AHRC has provided funding of £239,397 and work on the project began on 1 October 2006 and is scheduled to end on 30 September 2008.  The AHRC funds postgraduate training and research in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance.  The quality and range of research supported not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.  For further information on the AHRC, please see the website www.ahrc.ac.uk.

3.  One additional aim of the project is to secure the long-term preservation of the digital material.  The University of Ulster is committed to ensuring that all the contents of the CAIN site remain available to users of the site into the long-term.  In addition the CAIN site was selected to participate in the UK Web Archiving Consortium Project (webarchive.org.uk) and as such the contents of the site are regularly archived.  Any materials covered in this proposal would similarly be secured in the long-term.

4.  Professor Tom Fraser, Emeritus Professor based at INCORE, is the Principal Investigator and Award Holder and will lead the project team.  He is supported by Professor Gillian Robinson, Director of ARK and INCORE.  The other members of the team are:  Dr Martin Melaugh, Director of CAIN, Dr Brendan Lynn, Deputy Director of CAIN, Dr Sara McDowell, CAIN Research Associate, Mr Mike McCool, IT Director, and Mrs Janet Farren, Secretary.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young