International Coalition of Sites of Conscience

What International Coalition of Sites of Conscience does

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 and headquartered in New York City. It operates as a global membership network for historic sites, memorials, and museums that use memory work to advance transitional justice, human rights, and civic engagement. As of recent reporting the coalition has grown to 400+ member sites across 80 countries, organized through six regional networks (Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, MENA, and North America) and supported by a staff of 28 located in six countries on four continents.

Its core programmatic vehicles include the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR), active in 30+ countries since 2014; the Transitional Justice Consortium and its Hive Mind Series (launched May 2026); the Correcting the Record initiative; the Project Support Fund; and the Migration Museums Network. Members include high-profile sites such as ESMA (Argentina), the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (Canada), the Maison des Esclaves (Senegal), the Kigali Genocide Memorial (Rwanda), and the Liberation War Museum (Bangladesh). The coalition also operates an affiliated European entity (ICSC-Europe) and engages with UNESCO and other multilateral bodies.

As a nonprofit, ICSC is funded through grants and donations rather than a commercial pricing model; membership in the coalition is free for qualifying sites. Revenue is not publicly disclosed in the available material. Notable operational choices include a four-day workweek implemented in January 2021 and a leadership transition in January 2025 that brought Ereshnee Naidu in as Executive Director, succeeding Elizabeth Silkes.

Name

International Coalition of Sites of Conscience

Legal name

International Coalition of Sites of Conscience

Website

https://sitesofconscience.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is a global nonprofit network of 400+ historic sites and memorials across 80 countries that use memory work to advance transitional justice, human rights, and civic engagement, organized through six regional networks and supported by programs such as GIJTR.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Heritage and Human Rights Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Memory preservation
• Transitional justice
• Human rights advocacy
• Heritage conservation
• Civil society network

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, ICSC relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and institutional donors. The organization accepts one-time and monthly donations to support their mission of equipping museums, historic sites and communities to combat historical erasure.
2. Grant Funding: The Coalition provides grant support to members and receives grant funding from various institutional donors to support global programs including transitional justice initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC) operates a global membership network of over 400 historic sites, museums, and memory initiatives in 80 countries. It provides member organizations with grants, training and advising, transitional justice programming, advocacy, and networking opportunities designed to connect past struggles to today's human rights movements. Revenue is generated through donations, grants, and institutional contributions rather than commercial product sales.

Product overview

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is a platform-plus-network organization offering a unified portfolio of interconnected programs and services. The core offering is the Sites of Conscience Network of over 400 members in 80 countries, supplemented by training and advising services for museums and cultural organizations. Key programs include the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR) and the Transitional Justice Consortium. The organization provides resource products including Toolkits, Front Page Dialogues, and Webinars, and offers grant support through the Project Support Fund. Regional Networks (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America-Caribbean, MENA, North America) and the Migration Museums Network (thematic) provide peer coordination. The organization also offers the Correcting the Record methodology for inclusive historical narratives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR): A flagship program applying Sites of Conscience methodology to assist survivors and civil society organizations in transitional justice processes worldwide.
• Correcting the Record
• Transitional Justice Consortium

Products and services

• Sites of Conscience Network A global membership network of over 400 historic sites, museums, and memory initiatives in 80 countries that connects past struggles to today's movements for human rights, turning memory into action through grants, networking, training, and advocacy.
• Training and Advising Services Personalized training and consulting solutions for museums, historic sites, and cultural organizations covering public dialogue and programming, exhibitions, organizational culture, public speaking and advocacy, transitional justice and memorialization, and creativity workshops.
• Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR) A flagship program that applies Sites of Conscience methodology to assist survivors, civil society organizations, and communities in countries transitioning from conflict or authoritarian rule through documentation, transitional justice mechanisms, and healing initiatives; has worked with partners in over 30 countries.
• Transitional Justice Consortium An umbrella initiative focused on innovative approaches for centering communities in post-conflict justice processes, under which the Hive Mind Series and related programs are launched.
• Project Support Fund Financial and program support grants for members to develop new Sites of Conscience programs that activate memory to engage communities in social and civic challenges.
• Regional Networks Six regional networks (Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, MENA, North America) that build capacity of emerging initiatives and strengthen collective memory of past struggles through joint projects, workshops, and public engagement campaigns.
• Migration Museums Network A thematic network comprising museums that envision an open multicultural society where human mobility is a universal right.
• Correcting the Record Methodology A one-of-a-kind methodology providing a roadmap for Sites of Conscience to assess and recalibrate their repositories to offer more inclusive historical narratives and expand impact building equitable societies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tens of millions of people engaged annually through member sites
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.

• ICSC-Europe (International Coalition of Sites of Conscience–Europe)coreOthers · 1 January 2025ICSC-Europe is a subsidiary regional entity of the U.S.-based ICSC, operating as a regional office to coordinate European activities and support European member sites.
• Amplifier (nonprofit design lab)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021Partnership launched #SurvivorsKnowBest initiative in November 2021, combining GIJTR's transitional justice expertise with Amplifier's artist-activist network.
• GIJTR (Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014GIJTR is ICSC's flagship program applying Sites of Conscience methodology to assist survivors and civil society organizations in countries emerging from conflict or authoritarian rule. It has worked with partners in over 30 countries since 2014.
• UNESCOmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerICSC has engaged with UNESCO on World Heritage issues, including calling for relocation of the 2022 World Heritage Committee session from Russia in solidarity with Ukrainian members.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: A federally chartered living memorial that combines historic site, museum, and human rights research with global impact; comparable as a flagship Site of Conscience-type institution and ICSC member-style partner.
• American Alliance of Museums: The largest U.S. museum alliance providing advocacy, professional development, and standards; comparable as a membership-based infrastructure serving museums with similar member-benefit design, though U.S.-centric rather than global.
• International Council of Museums (ICOM): The global professional organization for museums, covering 50,000+ members across 130+ countries; comparable as the broadest membership-based infrastructure serving museums and cultural institutions, of which ICSC's network is a specialized subset.
• Amnesty International: Global human rights organization with sections in dozens of countries; comparable as a global advocacy network operating on member/donor funding, though its mission scope is broader than ICSC's memory-work focus.

Direct peers

• World Monuments Fund: Global heritage organization that preserves historic sites through advocacy, partnerships, and on-the-ground conservation; comparable in mission to safeguard culturally significant places, with overlap in member-supported heritage sites.
• International Center for Transitional Justice: A global nonprofit specializing in transitional justice, accountability, and reconciliation in societies emerging from conflict and repression; directly comparable to ICSC's GIJTR program and overlapping in mission, methodology, and donor base.
• Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities: Works with governments and civil society on atrocity prevention and memory of mass violence; closely comparable to ICSC's focus on Sites of Conscience as vehicles for memory-to-action programming.

Emerging players

• Impunity Watch: International nonprofit focused on accountability and redress for gross human rights violations in transition contexts; comparable niche focus on transitional justice, smaller scale than ICSC.
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum: New York-based museum founded by Ruth J. Abram (ICSC's founding director); deeply institutionally linked to ICSC through its founding lineage and shared Sites of Conscience methodology.

Regional players

• European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC): A European network of cultural centers supporting civic engagement and cultural democracy; comparable as a membership-based network applying cultural infrastructure to civic outcomes, though Europe-focused rather than global.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SitesConscience
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SitesofConscience/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/SitesofConscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-coalition-of-sites-of-conscience
• Instagraminstagram.com/sitesofconscience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Coalition of Sites of Conscience