National Leaders of Dialogue Conferences

We have officially kicked off the 5th Leaders of Dialogue Conference 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.

The first day of the 5th Leaders of Dialogue Conference was organized around the theme of good and sensitive practices in education, commemoration and history. Within the three thematic blocks, Leaders of Dialogue presented strategies, good practices and challenges faced in everyday work, which lead to a general discussion and exchange of experiences among the participants. In the afternoon we were also in for a treat, such as Agata Rakowiecka and Mikołaj Grynberg’s talk about contemporary Jewish life in Poland, Franciszek Bojańczyk’s virtual tour of modern Israel, Dorota Cieślik’s art workshop on street art and stencil art in service of the past and Agnieszka Pajączkowska’s talk about creative commemoration, and Agnieszka Haska’s presentation of the secrets of archive digitalization.

On the second day of the conference the participants listened to Ewa Koper’s account of the Anna and David Dlugie Kliger scholarship and learn more about funding opportunities.

Michał Bilewicz, Forum’s Vice President, shared his research and conclusions on the challenges and directions of Jewish history and Holocaust education in Poland. The presentation inspired a lively debate on the role of the teacher and educational institutions in the context of the educational reform in Poland. In the afternoon a tour of the Bródno Jewish cemetery and Żabiński villa at the Warsaw Zoo were organized for the participants.

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, were available for consultation to any of the participants. Among the experts, we had 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.

The conference was attended by over 50 Leaders, including about 20 first-timers. It 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.

Contributors

In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this educator training program. Through recovering the assets of the victims of the Holocaust, the Claims Conference enables organizations around the world to provide education about the Shoah and to preserve the memory of those who perished.

Project co-financed by Ledor Wador Foundation.