• Target Keystage(s): Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Post 16, Tertiary,
• Curriculum Subject(s): Citizenship, English, History, PSHE: personal wellbeing,
• Who Do We Think We Are Theme(s): Britishness, national identity/values & 2012 Games, History/Settlement, Relationships, belonging and faith,

Above: Image from the 'Through My Eyes' online exhibition.

Through My Eyes: Conflict, Belonging and Identity is the title of an online exhibition, developed by the IWM as part of the 'Their Past Your Future' programme. The exhibition illustrates ways in which various twentieth century conflicts have made people rethink or reaffirm their own sense of identity and belonging and presents a wide variety of personal stories from a range of different countries. Some explore the influence of the Empire and Commonwealth on personal choices to fight and serve, whilst other stories are from men, women and children forced to leave their own war-torn country and settle here in the UK.

The exhibition will be launched in two phases. The first phase (launched in June 2008) includes stories from Windrush passengers, First World War volunteers, Kindertransport children, Basque evacuees, displaced persons from the Second World War, people affected by the Indian Partition and also those affected by the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. The second phase (launched in the autumn of 2008) includes the experiences of Vietnamese boat people, refugees from Bosnia, refugees from Kosovo and survivors of the Rwandan genocide.

The introductory section of the exhibition encourages visitors to:

• Explore how conflict changed the men, women and children who tell their stories.
• Explore how conflict shaped their feelings about who they are and where they belong.
• Investigate stories that provide contrasting narratives about human cruelty and kindness, prejudice and patriotism, adversity, determination, and the fight for equality and identity. 
• Read about the impact of being uprooted from home and family, of encountering the violence of conflict, of the desire to help, and the fight to build a new life.

To view the online exhibition, please select the following link to the Through My Eyes website: http://www.throughmyeyes.org.uk/.