16 January 2024
Time to read: 2 mins
On 23 January 2024, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) will co-host the European Holocaust Remembrance Conference together with the European Commission (EC) and the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The conference will be held in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and bring together experts, policymakers, and practitioners from all over the world, as well as representatives of the many people working to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. The event will be live streamed.
A central focus of the conference discussion will be efforts to safeguard Holocaust sites, promoting Holocaust remembrance through site preservation, and effectively addressing the challenges that arise during it. The IHRA Charter for Safeguarding Sites, a set of recommendations on how to face diverse challenges encountered by different Holocaust sites, will therefore play a key role in the discussions. Initiatives like the IHRA Charter and the Brussels IWalk, featured on the day of the event, will form an essential context for the panel discussion encouraging the conference’s audience towards action-oriented preservation efforts and committing them to informed policymaking to safeguard Holocaust sites.
Featuring discussions on learning from best practice examples, the conference will also encourage conversation on how public authorities and Jewish communities at local levels, national governments, the EU, and international bodies can effectively work together to address preservation challenges and prioritize the protection of Holocaust sites that help in its remembrance.
The conference will feature opening statements by Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life; Marie-Colline Leroy, Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity of Belgium; Sara Lustig and Ambassador Terezija Gras, Co-Chairs of the Croatian Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; Sergey Lagodinsky, Vice-President of the European Parliament Working Group against antisemitism; and Dani Dayan, Chairman of Yad Vashem. It will also include conversations with Regina Sluszny, Holocaust survivor, and Katharina von Schnurbein, Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.
The panel discussion on safeguarding Holocaust sites will begin with a testimonial video featuring the diverse perspectives of the many professionals, volunteers, and local community members who have dedicated their lives to the protection of Holocaust sites and Holocaust remembrance. Panelists include Laurent Moyse, President of the Luxembourg Foundation of the Memory of the Shoah, Associated to the project “Cinqfontaines;” Simonetta Della Seta, Chair of the IHRA’s Museums and Memorials Working Group; and Veerle Vanden Daelen, Chair of the IHRA Project Monitoring Access to Holocaust Collections.
The conference will also include a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the Holocaust with the lighting of candles and a few minutes of silence. As there will be a live stream of the event, the discussion surrounding the importance, preservation, and future of Holocaust-related sites will be accessible to the public.
18:00 – 18:30 (CET)
Learn about the team of experts developing a heritage charter for Holocaust-related sites.
An in-depth look at what it means to safeguard sites and how you can take part.
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