Member Article

Newcastle Chosen To Host Holocaust Memorial Day

Newcastle has been chosen to host the United Kingdom’s 2007 Holocaust Memorial Day national event. Holocaust Memorial Day falls on the 27th January each year and has been declared as an international day of remembrance by the United Nations.

The 2007 event, which will carry the theme The Dignity of Difference – will be the seventh Holocaust Memorial Day marked in the UK. Newcastle was chosen as host city after a thorough open selection process The Newcastle event will be held at the Theatre Royal in the heart of Newcastle and will be the highlight of a week of commemorative events up and down the country.

In 2006 over 400 events were held to mark HMD and more are expected in 2007. Stephen Smith, Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said: “I’m delighted to be here in this magnificent city and am very proud to announce that Newcastle will host the United Kingdom’s national commemorative event for Holocaust Memorial Day 2007. The team here impressed the Trust with their creativity and dedication to this important international day of remembrance, and I personally was especially touched by their understanding of the spirit and purpose of Holocaust Memorial Day.

HMD is an opportunity to remember and learn from the lessons of the past and it provides a way into discussing difficult issues such as racism, xenophobia, discrimination and bigotry across different faiths and diverse communities. “This year’s theme, The Dignity of Difference, will provoke people into thinking about and recognising the value of difference.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .