Conferences

On May 16-17, 2016 Riga (Latvia) hosted the 4^th International Conference “Holocaust Museums and Memorial Places in Post-Communist Countries: Challenges and Opportunities”, organized by “Shamir” Association, Baltic International Tolerance Center, Riga Ghetto Museum. Vladyslav Bazylevsky and Iryna Radchenko, “Tkuma” Institute and the Holocaust Museum Research Associates, were invited to participate in the conference and presented banners of Educational Mobile Exhibitions dedicated to the Holocaust history.

The conference was opened by the welcoming speeches of Rabbi Dr. Menahem Barkahan and Dr Karlis Shadurskis, Minister of Education and Science.

More than 100 scholars from leading research and educational institutions of Armenia, Israel, Latvia, Germany, Russia, the USA, Hungary, Ukraine and Czech Republic became the participants of the event. Among them there were Prof. Zehavit Gross (UNESCO Chair, Israel), Dr. Yoel Rappel (Elie Wiesel Archive, the USA), Dr. Aron Shneyer (Yad Vashem, Israel), Petra Seidlova (European Shoah Legacy Institute, Czech Republic), Dr. Akiva Sela (“Jerusalem of Lithuania” Center, Lithuania), Dr. Jean-Yves Camus, (The George Washington University, The Elliot School of International Affairs, the USA), Dr, Leonid Terushkin (Russian Holocaust Center, Russia, and others.

The conference presentations were made during special sessions entitled: “Holocaust Teaching”, “Collaborators”, “The Modern Aspects of Discrimination and Aggressive Nationalism in Europe”, “Armenian Genocide as Ancestor of the Holocaust”, “Memorialization of the Holocaust”.

Within the session dedicated to the Holocaust teaching, “Tkuma” Institute and the Holocaust Museum Research Associates presented mobile exhibition banners on the Holocaust in Ukraine, Babyn Yar, the problem of collaboration during World War II, heroism of Righteous among the Nations, the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Unique photos and documents from Museum “Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine” and leading international institutions used to create mobile banners as well as interesting form of presentation drew attention of the audience. During the conference, contacts with European scientists and educators were established and forms of future cooperation were discussed.