5th Leaders of Dialogue Conference was inaugurated with an opening dinner and a keynote address by Marc Skvirsky, the Vice President and Chief Program Officer at Facing History and Ourselves. It was a welcomed opportunity to catch up with the amazing people that form our network of activists, artists, educators, local government officials and entrepreneurs dedicated to saving Polish/Jewish memory from oblivion. We were also honored to have George Elbaum, a Warsaw-born Holocaust Survivor join us for the opening night. Tomorrow we start the day with presentations by Leaders of Dialogue who are themselves experts in their respective fields.

The 5th Leaders of Dialogue Conference introduced changes to the way the event is organized. This year we have invited five Leaders to join our Program Board, so that the program truly reflected the needs of our network. We have also invited so-called “flying experts” who, though not presenting at the Conference, are available for consultation to any of the participants. Among the experts, we have Alicja Mroczkowska from the Jewish Historical Institute, Krzysztof Bielawski from the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Polin, and Barbara Engelking representing the Polish Center for Holocaust Research.

Attended by over 50 Leaders, including about 20 first-timers, it was, in our humble opinion, a great success. The Conference was a fantastic educational and networking opportunity. It was also a very moving meeting of close friends. We were really sad to let them go back to their homes, but we know that they return re-energized to do more of the amazing and humbling work that we appreciate them for.

Project co-financed by Ledor Wador Foundation and Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.