The participants of the Voices of Empire programme have begun a journey of unpacking their colonial legacy. They are holding a magnifying glass over their pasts, and the stories of their ancestors. When complexities and contradictions arise, they try to face up to the discomfort they feel. While their journey is far from over - if indeed it ever will be - they will be using their experiences and creative expressions to invite others to reflect on their own journey of unpacking colonial legacy. Unpacking the advantages afforded them simply because of where history placed them.
Those of us alive today were not the perpetrators during colonial times, however, many descendants of empires continue to enjoy the benefits of colonialism in the present day. Many others in the world - descendants of colonised and enslaved peoples - however, continue to bear the crushing weight and injustices of colonial legacy.
Accessible This is not a celebration.mp4
By facing this unearned advantage, despite the discomfort, we can together discover new ways of being. New ways that will help us to think outside the colonial paradigms that we are all trapped within - no matter where history has placed you in relation to colonial legacy.
The journey of reckoning is long, arduous, and confronting. But silently continuing to enjoy the advantages as most of us do is no longer an option. Because it means we are endorsing the continued burden and silencing of many others in the world.
The excuse of "I didn't know" is fast losing it's credibility...
This gathering is not a simple answer, nor a ritual of self redemption. However, it is a place from which to face what we usually ignore, erase or deny.
We warmly invite you to step in with us, and face whatever may arise.