This evening we commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day at the University of Leicester, Fraser Noble Hall. This annual event is sponsored by Leicester Council of Faiths, the Schools Development Support Agency (SDSA), the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Gencoide Studies at the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council. It's one of the most high-profile and prestigious occasions in the Council of Faiths calendar. There are between 75 and 80 people attending this evening.
I arrive before 1830 to erect one of our banners and put out a number of our leaflets (the generic ones showcasing the Council of Faiths). I also put a monitoring form on each seat. This is the fourth time we've used these forms at our events; hopefully, we'll all get used to them before long and we won't need to make special announcements to ensure everyone fills them out. Then it's a dash across London Road for dinner at The Loaded Dog. I have the Posh Fish Finger: (relatively) fast food so I can get back over to Fraser Noble Hall just before proceedings get under way at 1930.
Cllr Manjula Sood (Deputy Lord Mayor and Chair of the Council of Faiths) opens the meeting, welcoming distinguished guests: the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Cllr Roger Blackmore; Lady Mayoress, Mrs Hilary Blackmore; the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Mr Maurice Thompson among them.
We watch a DVD projected on the big screen, "Wasted Lives", which covers the major episodes of genocide in the twentieth century: Armenia (1915-17); Nazi-occupied Europe (1939-45) and Rwanda (1994). It also touches on events in the former Yugoslavia and in Cambodia. The sound system is a bit creaky, so some of the soundtrack was lost, but it's powerful and sobering stuff none the less.
Three students from Beauchamp College speak. One of them has been to Auschwitz, two are going next week. Then we hear two students from City of Leicester College, one of whom visited Auschwitz four years ago, the other is soon to go. Most of these young people have exams tomorrow and have given up some of their valuable revision time to be here and speak to us.
The Paul Winstone Memorial Essay competition has become a regular part of this event. This part of the proceedings is introduced by Tony Nelson and the prizes awarded by Paul Winstone's widow, Siobhan Begley. Only one of the prize winners is able to attend this evening, a ten-year old girl named Orla (aged 10) from Thomas Moore Primary School. Siobhan reads from other prize-winning essays submitted from Lancaster School for Boys.
Professor Aubrey Nemwman speaks to this year's theme, "The Legacy of Hope". Rev. David Clarke proposes the vote of thanks. We have the chance to mix and mingle with some light refrshements.
I collect in the monitoring forms, gather up leftover leaflets and pack away our banner. I was the first one in and am the last one out. I like that, as it adds to the reflective dimension for me.
This event featured strongly in a nationwide roundup of HMD commemorations published by the Jewish Chronicle (28 Jan 2010).
Read my blog entries for Holocaust Memorial Day 2009, "Stand Up to Hatred" and Holocaust Memorial Day 2011, "Untold Stories".
Cllr Manjula Sood (Deputy Lord Mayor and Chair of the Council of Faiths) opens the meeting, welcoming distinguished guests: the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Cllr Roger Blackmore; Lady Mayoress, Mrs Hilary Blackmore; the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Mr Maurice Thompson among them.
We watch a DVD projected on the big screen, "Wasted Lives", which covers the major episodes of genocide in the twentieth century: Armenia (1915-17); Nazi-occupied Europe (1939-45) and Rwanda (1994). It also touches on events in the former Yugoslavia and in Cambodia. The sound system is a bit creaky, so some of the soundtrack was lost, but it's powerful and sobering stuff none the less.
Three students from Beauchamp College speak. One of them has been to Auschwitz, two are going next week. Then we hear two students from City of Leicester College, one of whom visited Auschwitz four years ago, the other is soon to go. Most of these young people have exams tomorrow and have given up some of their valuable revision time to be here and speak to us.
The Paul Winstone Memorial Essay competition has become a regular part of this event. This part of the proceedings is introduced by Tony Nelson and the prizes awarded by Paul Winstone's widow, Siobhan Begley. Only one of the prize winners is able to attend this evening, a ten-year old girl named Orla (aged 10) from Thomas Moore Primary School. Siobhan reads from other prize-winning essays submitted from Lancaster School for Boys.
Professor Aubrey Nemwman speaks to this year's theme, "The Legacy of Hope". Rev. David Clarke proposes the vote of thanks. We have the chance to mix and mingle with some light refrshements.
I collect in the monitoring forms, gather up leftover leaflets and pack away our banner. I was the first one in and am the last one out. I like that, as it adds to the reflective dimension for me.
This event featured strongly in a nationwide roundup of HMD commemorations published by the Jewish Chronicle (28 Jan 2010).
Read my blog entries for Holocaust Memorial Day 2009, "Stand Up to Hatred" and Holocaust Memorial Day 2011, "Untold Stories".
No comments:
Post a Comment