Noticias

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova will open an international seminar focusing on the Rise of Violent Extremism and Lessons of the Holocaust, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 5 May 2017, in the context of the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue.

Organized by the Aladdin Project, a Paris-based NGO promoting intercultural relations, in partnership with UNESCO, the seminar will explore how education can mitigate the rise of violent extremism and promote intercultural dialogue. It will explore also how education about past genocide and mass atrocities, such as the Holocaust, can contribute to better intercultural relationships. 

The seminar will gather international figures involved in supporting intercultural dialogue globally such as Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti emeritus of Bosnia Herzegovina; Bakthiar Amin, former Minister for Human Rights in Iraq and Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as well as high-level representatives of all faiths in Azerbaijan. It will also involve Holocaust scholars and educators, notably  Dorit Novak, Director General of Yad Vashem (Israel) and Prof. Steven Katz, academic advisor to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Teachers and education policy-makers of Azerbaijan will also participate in the discussions to identify measures that can be taken to foster tolerance and intercultural dialogue through education in the region.

UNESCO published the first-ever policy guide on Education about the Holocaust and Preventing Genocide last month. It provides effective responses and a wealth of recommendations for education stakeholders who wish to engage in or to reinforce this education.