Kjell Brataas is a crisis management specialist who has been on the front line during some of Norway’s most devastating crises, including the tsunami in 2004 and the terrorist attacks in Oslo and on Utøya on July 22, 2011. Brataas has practical experience from private companies and several government ministries. He has presented at conferences around the world, including London, Toronto, Istanbul, Boston and Sydney, and he has lectured on crisis communication and victim support at the university level.
I have waited a very long time for a book like this to be written. It sensitively captures every trial and tribulation of memorialisation after tragedy. It makes clear, and explores with great heart, a truism known to many of us in this field, that how you plan and think about a memorial is as vital as the final tribute itself. This book is essential reading for emergency managers, memorial committees and all disaster studies programmes. Professor Lucy Easthope, University of Bath Disaster Memorials and Monuments: History, Context and Practice from around the World is a must read for anyone who finds themselves in the position of having to navigate the complex emotional, political, and practical challenges of memorializing tragedy. Kjell Brataas lays out all of the issues that families, communities, designers, and public officials face in this process no matter where they are in the world and provides clear and concise case studies of how they have been handled in a variety of diverse contexts. This book is not a compendium of memorials, nor is it meant to be; rather it is a comprehensive account of the things that need to be addressed in the process of considering, planning, and constructing a memorial to tragic events and gives readers a sense of what commemorations might look like in the short, medium, and long terms. Jay D. Aronson, Carnegie Mellon University, Author of Who Owns the Dead: The Science and Politics of Death at Ground Zero If you are among the millions who visit and enjoy the comfort, the connection, and the inspiration of memorials and monuments, this book will be your personal treasure. Memorials and Monuments is literally a memorial and a monument about monuments. Keep this in your suitcase for every time you hit the road. One hopes that Kjell is at work on Memorials and Monuments Part 2. James E. Lukaszewski, America’s Crisis Guru® Kjell's work helps demonstrate the importance of getting disaster memorials and monuments right. They are one way to support recovery for those affected, help cement important narratives that form a part of our collective memory, and must be treated with thought and care. This work captures the complexity of the processes of memorials and monuments, how delicate, important and difficult they can be. Kjell's continued work in this space greatly contributes to the knowledge and guidance available for those who will navigate this into the future. Dr. Kate Brady, Senior Research Fellow, University of New South Wales, Technical Adviser, Australian Red Cross