2025 Annual General Meeting in Amsterdam: Mobilizing Knowledge and Conceptualizing Public Engagement
Guest blog feature by Elissa Boghosian
On June 19 and 20, 2025, project partners from the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Iraq and Syria Research Cluster hosted a two-day Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Amsterdam for the Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives project. The AGM was preceded by a public event on June 18: ‘Visualizing Survivors’ Voices: How graphic novels strengthen historical understanding of witnesses’ experiences’. It featured a live reading of the forthcoming Al-Fazia –The Horror: Surviving Assad’s Prisons by Akram al-Saud and Tobi Dahmen with a panel discussion.
This year’s AGM convened eighteen Research Cluster Co-Leads, project partners and researchers from Canada, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Scotland, and Switzerland. The AGM focused on how the five Research Clusters can prepare to “go public” through the publication of their graphic novels and associated public engagement activities. Hosted at the Royal Netherlands Academy of the Arts and Sciences’ (KNAW) Trippenhuis, the AGM provided a forum for participants to consider cross-cluster collaboration opportunities, conceptualize public engagement, share research cluster progress from the last year, and contemplate milestones for the years ahead.
SCVN Annual General Meeting for Year 3: ‘Knowledge Mobilization’ at the Royal Netherlands Academy of the Arts and Sciences’ (KNAW) Trippenhuis. Photo credit: Jennifer Sauter.
Day 1 began with cross-cluster conversations. Each Research Cluster met on a rotating basis with the other clusters to explore connections between their work, share challenges, and consider how insights from other groups could inform their own approaches.
In the afternoon, a facilitated conversation with the Iraq and Syria Research Cluster led by Fransiska Louwagie invited reflection on the cluster’s experiences developing their graphic novels and their public trajectories. The day concluded with a discussion about project planning for 2025 and beyond, including archiving, long-term community engagement strategies, audience conceptualization, graphic novel publicity, and more. Each cluster contemplated these topics and developed preliminary timelines for Year 4 of the project.
Charlotte introducing the AGM: What does it mean to “go public”? (left) and Fransiska Louwagie leading a discussion with the Iraq and Syria Research Cluster’s Leyla Ferman, Kjell Anderson, Kees Ribbens and Uğur Ümit Üngör (right). Photo credit: Jennifer Sauter.
Day 2 started with presentations from four external speakers involved in the development and/or use of graphic novels about mass violence. Steven Stegers (Euroclio) spoke about using visual media in history teaching while Rob Verheijen (Hogeschool Arnhem Nijmegen) presented on using World War II and Holocaust graphic novels in Dutch history education.
Steven Stegers from Euroclio presenting (left) and Rob Verheijen (right + below) leading our team through a workshop engaging with a Holocaust comic for highschool students to identify characters as perpetrators, victims, helpers, bystanders and society.
Sabine Rutar, Franziska Zaugg and Erin Jessee. Photo credit: Jennifer Sauter.
Fransiska Louwagie, Andrea Webb, Shannon Leddy and Elissa Boghosian. Photo credit: Jennifer Sauter.
Following these presentations, Kees Ribbens moderated a conversation with Bas Kortholt (Kamp Westerbork) and Adriaan Baccaert (Kazerne Dossin) about the development and publication of Picturing the Unimaginable: Ten Comic Authors, Ten Stories about the Holocaust and other Nazi Crimes (see below). In addition to speaking about the graphic novel itself, Bas and Adriaan shared about the associated exhibition and other public engagement considerations from the project.
Adriaan Baccaert (Kazerne Dossin) far left, with Bas Kortholt (Kamp Westerbork) presenting, moderated by Kees Ribbens (right). Photo credit: Jennifer Sauter. Cover of Picturing the Unimaginable (right).
The program concluded with status update presentations from each Research Cluster, showcasing moving film trailers and artwork from their graphic novels. It was a formative moment for each Research Cluster to share their progress and journey since their initial gathering at our Year 1 AGM in Glasgow.
We would like to thank our hosts, project partners and all those who contributed to the fruitful discussions throughout the AGM in Amsterdam. We hope the program offered participants meaningful opportunities to learn, share, and connect, and that it laid a strong foundation for the next year of the Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives project.