Conscience in Action: 2024 Memory Parlor of the Cora di Brazzà Foundation

"Conscience in Action" is the 2024 "Memory Parlor" sponsored by the Cora di Brazzà Foundation. It will be held at the breathtaking Philadelphia Masonic Temple, a national historic landmark in the heart of Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. We will meet on July 17-18, 2024, which marks a number of important dates in peace and justice history, among them the 300th birthday of the philosopher Immanuel Kant; the 150th birthday of Peace through Law Artist, Violet Oakley; 125th anniversary of the 1899 Hague Peace Conference; and the 100th birthday of Kim Dae Jung, the only Korean to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the peaceful unification of the two Koreas, and whose motto and nickname was "Conscience in Action."

What is a "Memory Parlor"? Simply put, it is an interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and international space in which participants get "work done" on their memories. Inspired by the Ancient Art of Memory, at Memory Parlors, we connect fragmented narratives pertaining to peace, human dignity, law, history and philosophy, under the protection and shelter of beauty. And we believe that in so doing, we decrease alienation and increase connection, belonging, harmony and understanding . Our Memory Parlors acknowledge the need for spaces to cultivate our understanding of morally relevant history, i.e., the stories of value-centric ideas and of persons who bring those ideas to life. A foundational principle of our Memory Parlors is that history is narrative of past ethics, and is indispensable for charting the course towards a better horizon.

To visit archives of our past Memory Parlors, visit here.

(10am - 4pm)

2024 marks the 300th birthday of philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1808), whose ideas in his 1795 work Perpetual Peace, were foundational to those working within the 19th century Peace Through Law Movement. American Benjamin Franklin Trueblood (1847-1916) authored a translation of Kant's 1795 text as well as other works which drew upon Kant's philosophy. Trueblood and others in the Peace through Law Movement saw Kant's emphasis on reason and conscience as central to the vision of international harmony, and Kant's influences are apparent in Trueblood's The Federation of the World (1899). Accordingly, "Reason and Conscience in the Peace through Law Movement" is the focal point for Day 1 of the Memory Parlor. In additon to commemorating the 300th birthday of Kant, 2024 is a confluence of other important peace and justice anniversary dates: it is the 125th anniversary of the 1899 Hague Peace Conference, a watershed movement in the Peace through Law Movement which, among other things, enshrined the "dictates of the public conscience" as a source of international law". 2024 is also the 150th anniversary of the birthday of Philadelphia artist and Peace through Law Educator Violet Oakley (1874-1961) whose murals in the Pennsylvania State Capitol tell the story of Peace through Law; the 150th anniversary of philosopher and theologian Howard Thurman, whose ideas provided the framework for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement; and the 100th birthday of Kim Dae Jung (1924-2009), whose nickname and motto was "Conscience in Action". On Day 1 of our Memory Parlor, we focus on stories that highlight stories of Reason and Conscience in the Peace through Law Movement.

(10am-3pm)

The conceptual anchor of Day 2 of the Memory Parlor is a 1958 essay by Korean philosopher, poet, peace and democracy activist, Ham Sok Hon (1901-1989). Little known in the U.S., Ham Sok Hon was a Korean quaker sometimes referred to as "The Gandhi of Korea." His 1958 essay "Only the Thinking People Will Survive", published in the Korean newsletter Sassangye ("World of Thought) resulted in his imprisonment. The essay urges us to think hard about the meaning of world history, the Korean War, and the use of violence in pursuing justice. Ham Sok Hon was born in what is now known as "North Korea", but migrated to the South where we worked on behalf of Peace and Democracy. Ham also visited Philadelphia a number of times, and studied at Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center outside of Philadelphia. Also known as a "Korean Quaker," some of Ham's papers are held at the Friends Historical Library and the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, at Swarthmore College. On Day 2, we focus on Ham's essay (which will be distrbuted to participants ahead of time), as well as other "Consciences in Action" who labored for Peace through Law.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Masonic Temple, 1 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, United States