The IHRA press room

Learn more about the IHRA press room and how it works with journalists and members of the media.

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This page is designed to provide journalists and members of the media with useful information about the IHRA and our work.

Spokespeople

IHRA Secretary General Dr. Kathrin Meyer

Areas of expertise: Countering Holocaust distortion and antisemitism, Denazification, Holocaust education, remembrance, and research

Dr. Kathrin Meyer has been the Secretary General of the IHRA since 2008. Dr. Meyer has an MA in Educational Science and a PhD in History from the Technical University Berlin, specializing in denazification and re-education in Germany after 1945.

From 2000-2004 she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technical University Berlin and in 2003 a research fellow at the Center for advanced Holocaust studies at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. In 2004 Dr. Meyer was appointed Adviser on Antisemitism Issues at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw, Poland, where she was responsible for designing and implementing a program aimed at combating antisemitism and strengthening Holocaust education and remembrance in the (then) 56 participating OSCE States.

In her role as Secretary General of the IHRA, Dr. Meyer provides support and guidance to the IHRA Chair and coordinates – together with her colleagues at the IHRA Permanent Office – the activities of the IHRA’s Member and Observer Countries, as well as the projects and work of the organization’s expert Working Groups and specialized Committees.

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About the IHRA in brief

Vision statement

A world that remembers the Holocaust. A world without genocide.

Mission statement

Uniting governments and experts to strengthen, advance, and promote Holocaust education, remembrance, and research worldwide and to uphold the commitments of the 2000 Stockholm Declaration and the 2020 Ministerial Declaration.

Key facts

  • The IHRA is the only intergovernmental organization with a mandate focused solely on the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma.
  • Our priority for 2018–2024 is to counter distortion and safeguard the record of the Holocaust and the genocide of the Roma.
  • The IHRA was initiated in 1998 by former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF).
  • The IHRA network currently consists of 35 Member Countries, 8 Observer Countries, 9 Liaison Countries, 9 Permanent International Partner Organizations.
  • Each delegation is made up of at least one governmental representative and leading subject-matter experts in the field.
  • The IHRA Presidency is held by a different Member Country every year. It is currently held by the United Kingdom and will be held by Israel next year.
  • Read about the IHRA’s recent initiatives in the press release covering our latest Plenary Meetings and our 2022 Annual Report.

Important dates

  • 27 January – International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  • 1 March – IHRA Presidency Handover
  • June/July – Four-day Plenary Meetings
  • 2 August – Remembrance Day of the Genocide of the Roma
  • November/December – Four-day Plenary Meetings

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