Surviving Memory Named Finalist for 2026 SSHRC Impact Awards
The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador project has been named one of nine finalists for the 2026 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Impact Awards. The project is a finalist in the Partnership Award category, which recognizes research partnerships that demonstrate mutual cooperation, shared intellectual leadership and resources, and meaningful impact within and beyond academic communities.
This recognition reflects more than a decade of collective work by an international, interdisciplinary, and cross-sector partnership of Salvadoran civil war survivors, community leaders, scholars, students, artists, architects, and activists. Through initiatives focused on community documentation, commemoration, testimony, economic reconstruction, environmental reparation, and healing, Surviving Memory has worked alongside communities affected by the Salvadoran Civil War (1980–1992). The partnership's work includes documenting survivors' testimonies, preserving historical archives, co-creating memorials, and supporting youth arts initiatives. Central to these efforts is a shared commitment to trust, solidarity, and collaborative decision-making, with research guided by the priorities and aspirations of the communities involved.
Being named a finalist recognizes the important contributions of all members of the Surviving Memory partnership, whose collective efforts have shaped the project's work over the past decade. The partnership brings together hundreds of researchers, trainees, and community collaborators who work across national, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries. Through collective discussion, consultation with survivors, and shared decision-making, the project continues to support community-led efforts to document and commemorate experiences of the civil war. With SSHRC set to announce the award recipients in December 2026, this recognition provides an opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and contributions of the many individuals and communities who have sustained Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador.
Read more:
SSHRC Announces Finalists for the 2026 Impact Awards
Surviving Memory Project Named Finalist for SSHRC Impact Awards — Western University FIMS
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.