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Holocaust education and intercultural understanding in South-East Europe: Croatia to host the fifth meeting of the international steering group
Within the framework of UNESCO鈥檚 global initiative 鈥淐ulture: a Bridge to Development鈥, the Ministry of Culture of Croatia will host on 6-7 February 2014 in Zagreb, with the support of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), the fifth meeting of the international steering group responsible for coordinating the establishment of a joint exhibit space within the ex-Yugoslav pavilion (nr. 17) in the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, a site placed on the World Heritage List in 1979.
Four meetings on this subject already took place in Belgrade (June 2012), Sarajevo (December 2012), Skopje (April 2013) and Auschwitz-Birkenau (July 2013), under the auspices of UNESCO, within the framework of the global initiative 鈥淐ulture: a Bridge to Development鈥 and the Intersectoral Platform for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.
This fifth meeting in Zagreb is organized to continue discussions on the renovation of the Pavilion nr. 17, located within the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland, and on the setting up of a joint exhibition for 6 Ex-Yugoslav countries on the Holocaust. It should serve to present and discuss the new items selected by each delegation for each chapter, and review consolidated texts drafted by the Editorial Committee.
This meeting should allow for an update on the situation and the relevant follow-up actions. In addition, the meeting should favour further exchange on matters pertaining to the designing of the exhibition.
The participating countries are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. International institutions participating are: UNESCO, Holocaust Memorial Museum (USA), M茅morial de la Shoah (France), Topography of Terror (Germany). Are also invited representatives from the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland), as well as from Austria (National Fund for Victims of National Socialism), which is playing a central role in the project, in particular the renovation of the entire building.
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The objectives of this meeting are in line with UNESCO鈥檚 overall mission to promote Holocaust education, as well as the role of museums as tools for intercultural understanding, research and dialogue. The meeting is supported by the UNESCO Venice Office through UNESCO鈥檚 Intersectoral Platform for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence.
Links:
Contact: Karel Fracapane, Programme Specialist, Section of Education for Peace and Human Rights at k.fracapane(at)unesco.org
