The UK has concluded its presidency of the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA),
which ran from March 2024 to February 2025. The
presidency's theme, “In Plain Sight”, drew attention to the fact
that the Holocaust did not happen in a dark corner. This
highlighted the nature of society that allowed the murder of 6
million Jewish men, women and children, and shone a spotlight on
all those who had a part to play.
Our presidency focused on safeguarding remembrance of the
Holocaust and securing the narrative for the future. This
included tackling Holocaust distortion, and exploring the role of
artificial intelligence as a force for both good and bad in
Holocaust education and distortion.
During our presidency, we delivered our ‘My Hometown' project,
supporting young people across the IHRA
membership in learning about their local Holocaust history.
Fifty six schools from across 15 countries took part. A
gallery of
all the projects can be found on our implementing partner's
website.
We also published the 80 Objects-80 Lives
digital exhibition, delivered in partnership with the Association
of Jewish Refugees. In the exhibition, Holocaust survivors shared
personal stories connected to their possessions in a series of
eighty short videos.
We were also pleased to work with the Association of Jewish
Refugees to launch their new UK testimony portal. This
brings together UK testimony on one platform for the first time.
The UK hosted 2 plenary meetings, bringing together around 300
IHRAdelegates
in Glasgow in June and
London in December, to
discuss efforts to strengthen Holocaust remembrance, education
and research.
We made progress in a range of areas, including the launch of the
Archival Access Forum, to facilitate the sharing of best practice
in accessing and preserving Holocaust-related archive
materials.
We launched guidance on the implementation of the IHRA
definition of antisemitism for sporting institutions. We
also hosted a successful Roma conference attended by
representatives of the Roma community from across Europe, and
launched IHRA's
recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Roma.
Our presidency also explored the role of emerging technologies in
Holocaust education and distortion. We co-hosted an event with the
OSCE in Romania. This considered how artificial
intelligence could be used as a force for good in Holocaust
education and in identifying and tackling instances of
antisemitism and Holocaust distortion online. It also explored
its more negative uses in facilitating Holocaust distortion. We
continued these discussions in the margins of the London plenary,
during a follow up conference on the role of artificial
intelligence
Domestically, we published the outcome of a review establishing
the facts around the number of prisoners who
died on Alderney during the Nazi occupation. This review
played an important role in bringing to an end conspiracies and
misinformation surrounding this crucial period of history.
Finally, we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of
Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 25th anniversary of the
Stockholm Declaration on Holocaust Remembrance. In February,
we brought together IHRA
delegates alongside key figures who have played a role in
strengthening international action on Holocaust commemoration
over the past 25 years. Together we reflected on our achievements
and look ahead to the future of remembrance.
The Holocaust will sadly soon move from our living memory into
the history books, and we will no longer be able to hear
survivors tell their stories first-hand. It is therefore
essential that we continue to do all we can to safeguard
Holocaust sites, encourage greater transparency of
Holocaust-related archives, and promote testimony and the stories
of Holocaust-related objects.
