CONFERENCE: JEWISH CULTURAL HERITAGE. PROJECTS, METHODS, INSPIRATIONS
12 March 2016
We invite all practitioners, museum professionals, educators, artists, and people working on a Jewish cultural heritage project to participate in the conference. We especially encourage them to contribute by submitting their abstracts in the open call. We wish to have presentations about as diverse a group of projects as possible. The conference will explore issues related to Jewish cultural heritage in contemporary Europe – preservation, animation, engagement, and impact.
The conference is organized by the POLIN Museum of the History of the Polish Jews in collaboration with HL-Senteret in Norway and the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association from Poland.
The conference will be held in Warsaw on 8-10 June 2016. The call for contributions is open until 31 March 2016. The conference will be held in English and Polish.
For whom is Jewish cultural heritage being preserved and interpreted? What is its role in the renewal of Jewish life and memory? What is its impact on local and diasporic communities? How does Jewish cultural heritage figure in educational, artistic, and cultural programs? How is it deployed in wider historical and contemporary discourses?
We will look at these issues through the prism of specific projects and initiatives – historic sites, heritage routes, museums, exhibitions, educational programs, artistic interventions, and new media. Participants will share innovative methods, ideas and good practices. Creative international networking will be the focus of the third day of the conference.
The special session titled ‘Social engagement – heritage of diversity or burden of xenophobia? Programs promoting open attitudes and a diverse society’ is being prepared by the ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association. It will be chaired by Yury Boychenko, the chief of the Anti-Discrimination Section at the Office of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights based in Geneva.
Contributions by practitioners in this field are especially welcome. They are encouraged to address some of the following questions:
The history of the relationship between the Jewish diaspora and the surrounding majorities is a heritage that teaches acceptance and coexistence within diversity or is it rather a burden of xenophobia and personalization of fears of the Other? How is combating anti-Semitism combined with other minorities’ issues; are there limitations to using the Jewish example in that matter? How is educating about anti-Semitism connected to current social issues, problems and conflicts? What kind of projects or initiatives are undertaken in Europe; to whom are they addressed and do they have an impact?
Important dates:
31 Mar 2016 – Closing of the open call
1 Apr – 14 Apr 2016 – Evaluation of the abstracts and preparation of the final version of the program
14 Apr – 30 Apr 2016 – Registration of the presenters
01 May – 31 May 2016 – Participants registration
08 Jun – 10 Jun 2016 – Conference
More information:
Małgorzata Owczarska – project coordination This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Karol Kwiatkowski – communications and promotion This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Main e-mail – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.polin.pl
www.nigdywiecej.org
www.facebook.com/respect.diversity
www.twitter.com/StowNIGDYWIECEJ
The ‘NEVER AGAIN’ Association is an independent anti-racist educational and monitoring organization established in 1996. ‘NEVER AGAIN’ has set up the East Europe Monitoring Centre documenting racism, antisemitism and xenophobia across the region.