First Student-Led Research Forum

In April 2025, students involved in the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project organized the first Student-Led Research Forum at Western University. The event created a collaborative space for undergraduate and graduate students to present research connected to the project’s core themes, including historical memory, environmental justice, community archives, and participatory research methodologies. Presentations highlighted ongoing work on archival digitization, diaspora memory, environmental histories of the Salvadoran Civil War, and community-based approaches to documenting memory and resistance.

The forum brought together students, faculty members, and community collaborators, encouraging dialogue between emerging scholars and experienced researchers. Through panel discussions and presentations, students shared insights from their research while reflecting on the ethical and methodological challenges of working with community archives and histories of violence. The event also served as an opportunity to strengthen mentorship networks within the project and to highlight the important role of student researchers in advancing collaborative and community-engaged scholarship.

The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador research initiative is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Western University, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Ontario Research Fund.