Task Force For International Cooperation On Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research

 
 
 
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Working Groups

ACADEMIC WORKING GROUP

Declaration on Academic Research on the Holocaust

The Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research earnestly suggests to the governments who participated in the Stockholm Forum on January 26-28, 2000, to make it clear to their national communities that the governments give wholehearted moral support to any efforts made by universities and colleges-within their academic traditions-to appoint scholars from relevant disciplines who specialise in research on and teaching about the Holocaust and genocides, past and present. The Task Force will also extend moral support to all efforts at intensifying teacher training in Holocaust and genocide studies to prepare future teachers to disseminate this knowledge among their pupils.

In order to encourage international cooperation on these issues, the Task Force will consider the possibility of international conferences of experts dealing with these subjects. It will also consider posting a list of such institutions on the websites of its participating countries-first and foremost the Task Force website, which is already in existence.

The Task Force reiterates its demands for absolute free access to archival materials in all countries relevant to Holocaust and genocide studies.


EDUCATION WORKING GROUP

The Education Working Group (EWG) assists in one of the three state principal areas of activities identified by the Task Force by offering support and advice on educational matters.

To achieve this the EWG:
  1. Makes recommendations to the plenary on education matters connected to liaison projects and other activities carried out by Task Force members.
  2. Provides links and networks that may enhance the outcome of given educational projects and encourage educational institutions in member states to engage issues that will support the outcome of the Task Force's overall aims.
  3. Provides support and advice on matters of best practice that may be pertinent to a number of different contexts.
  4. Assists with teacher training through existing institutions and through new projects initiated by host countries. Considers the ways in which the Task Force might encourage and support teacher training.
  5. Provides an ongoing forum for debate and discussion of ideas and sharing of materials and pedagogues that have been used successfully in the field of education. This is intended to enrich the depth of support the Task Force can offer through its various projects and to find appropriate vehicles by which to disseminate the outcomes of such discussion.
  6. Provides support to member states and project partners who wish to assess the outcomes of their activities, and supports the creation of strategic planning for educational development where requested and required.
  7. Makes available the practical expertise of Task Force member states and their delegates to any partner that requests support in the accomplishment of educational activities.


COMMUNICATIONS WORKING GROUP

The Communications Working Group (CWG) provides information about the Task Force and the Task Force's projects as well as basic information on developments in Holocaust education, remembrance, and research worldwide. It also ensures efficient communication among the members of the Task Force and its working groups.

The CWG is responsible for the content of printed materials concerning the Task Force and for the content of the Task Force Web site. The primary target groups of the Task Force Web site and information activities are governments, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and professionals working in the fields of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. Decisions concerning the content and structure of the Task Force Web site and printed materials will be made by consensus of the members of the CWG.

1.    The CWG will make recommendations to the plenary on matters concerning information projects connected to the liaison projects and other activities carried out by the Task Force members.

2.    The CWG will submit an annual report concerning the activities and outcomes of the Task Force Web site and printed materials, including statistical information about visitors to the Web site and objectives for the Task Force Web site and information projects for the following year.

3.    Members of the CWG are responsible for providing information about Holocaust education, remembrance, and research in their respective countries for the Task Force Web site and printed materials. The members of the CWG will also provide information for the Task Force Web site as needed.

4.    At the present time the CWG is responsible for the following specific projects, including periodic updates, on the Web site:

  • Basic information concerning the mission and projects of the Task Force
  • Reports of the Task Force and related meetings
  • The International Directory of Organizations in Holocaust Education, Remembrance,    and Research
  • The International Calendar of Events in Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research
  • Information on educational activities worldwide
  • A directory of archives
  • Information on remembrance activities worldwide
  • A directory of historical commissions
  • Additional information projects in cooperation with other Task Force working groups as may be determined
5.    The CWG also recommends policy regarding the listservs and other means of internal communication among members of the Task Force and its working groups.


MEMORIALS AND MUSEUMS WORKING GROUP

The principal aim of the Memorials and Museums Working Group (MMWG) is to help the Task Force mobilize support and expertise for Holocaust memorials and related places of memory in keeping with the Stockholm Declaration.
  • The members of the MMWG collect information on memorials and establish databases as a foundation for this work. This activity includes the collection of information useful in supporting and improving the work of memorials.
  • The MMWG explores how the preservation of memorials may be ensured in perpetuity.
  • The MMWG promotes communication and exchange between memorial sites and museums.
  • The MMWG encourages the use of memorial sites and institutions for professional engagement, training, and development.
  • The MMWG encourages reflection on the relationship between memorial sites and the culture of commemoration.
  • The MMWG makes recommendations to the Task Force on how governments and institutions should direct their attention to major issues concerning the preservation of existing Holocaust memorials as well as sites that are not yet marked.
  • The MMWG supports and assists activities concerning memorials at the request of other working groups and in support of liaison projects.
  • The activities of the MMWG will be posted on the Task Force Web site.
  • The chair and co-chair of the MMWG will be elected once a year.

 

 
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