Canada Hosts Important International Meetings on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research

TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Canada, as Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), is honoured to host a major international conference to address a range of important issues on Holocaust education, remembrance and research.

"The Holocaust is a crime that stands alone in human history for the scale of its horror and inhumanity," stated Jason Kenney, Minister for Multiculturalism. "The government of Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has been dedicated to ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten."

As a leader in Holocaust education and commemoration, Canada has prepared a world-class program to advance this global effort.

The five days of international meetings begin with an academic conference hosted by the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto, on October 6 and 7. The conference, New Scholars, New Research on the Holocaust, features 24 speakers from North America, Europe, Israel, Australia, and Argentina and will showcase emerging interdisciplinary scholarship in the field. The academic conference is free and open to the public.

From October 8 to10, the biannual IHRA working meeting will bring together experts, academics and policy-makers from 31 member countries, 4 observer countries, and 6 permanent observer organizations. Meetings will conclude on Thursday with a plenary session organized by Government of Canada officials to discuss various aspects of Holocaust remembrance and research, including a working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion, and development of an IHRA grant strategy for 2014-2017. IHRA member states will also discuss implementation of a multi-year plan to research and memorialize killing sites that lie outside of major death camps, improve access to archival Holocaust documents and increase our understanding of the ways in which the Holocaust is taught in schools around the world.

The unprecedented character of the Holocaust will always hold universal meaning. IHRA member countries are committed to the principle of "never again," pledging to strengthen their efforts to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, to honour the Righteous Among the Nations who stood against it, and to ensure that their stories are preserved for future generations.

For more information on Canada's commitment to Holocaust education and remembrance, please visit: www.cic.gc.ca/holocaust

For the agenda of the academic conference, please visit: http://www.cjs.utoronto.ca/events/calendar/conference-new-scholarsnew-research-holocaust

SOURCE: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

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