The Memorial For Those Who Did Not Fall In War

Organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center and Columbia University Global Center for Peace Innovation.

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The memorial will take place over the course of three days. Pre-registration is now open for those who would like to be notified by email of specific talks and other activities. The full program will be announced soon.

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At the heart of this initiative lies a clear claim: in today’s world, none of us truly lives in peace. Societies that define themselves as peaceful sustain global systems of arms trade and military intervention that continuously fuel wars and genocides, while the psychological, ecological, and political consequences of conflict extend far beyond the battlefield, reaching even those who have never set foot in a war zone. 

The Memorial for Those Who Did Not Fall in War (MNW) channels this shared accountability and suffering into a collective space of inquiry and creation. Through its Interdisciplinary Lab, Art Gallery, and Pedagogical Hub, MNW brings together leading scholars and artists with students and local communities to radically redefine what it means to be “at peace” and “at war” in the 21st century, toward a future grounded in cross-border peace and ecological justice. 

The memorial will be inaugurated at Columbia Global Center Paris on February 11–13, 2026, through three days of symposium, exhibition, workshops, performances, film screenings, and roundtables, from which it will set out on its global journey across each region of the world.

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Symposium: Georges Didi-Huberman (EHESS), Françoise Vergès (University of London), Nina Berman (Columbia), Yann Toma (Panthéon-Sorbonne), Philippe Mesnard (Clermont Auvergne University), Alexandre Gefen (CNRS), Stéphane Gerson (NYU), Catherine Brun (Sorbonne Nouvelle), Lorie Novak (NYU), Barbara Polla, Lubov Jurgenson (CNRS), Thomas Hippler (University of Caen).

Interventions: Kapwani Kiwanga (Canada / Tanzania), Hito Steyerl (Berlin), Regina José Galindo (Guatemala), Julieta Aranda (Mexico), Paola Yacoub (Lebanon / France), Leisa Khomenko (Ukraine), Mukaddas Mijit (Uyghur), Majd Abdel Hamid (Palestine / Syria), Zeid Hamdan & Elia (Lebanon / Tunisia), Warren Neidich (USA), Syd Krochmalny (Argentina), Dalia Sbitan (Palestine), Louis- Cyprien Rials (Iraq / France), Detext (Spain).

Board: Hadas Zahavi (direction), Sarah Cole, Marianne Hirsch, Bruno Bosteels, Madeleine Dobie, Nina Berman, Joerg M. Schaefer, David C. Johnston, Thomas W. Dodman.

Pictured: Maps, hand-woven rug made with 22,000 used 9mm American, Russian, Mexican, and Israeli bullet casings found near Guatemala City, Photo courtesy of SF Museum of Craft & Design.

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This event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.

Reid Hall, the Columbia Global Paris Center, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination are not responsible for the views and opinions expressed by their speakers and guests.