On HMD 2024, we can all reflect on how freedom is fragile and vulnerable to abuse.

Collingwood mark the day by reflecting on our own journey in educating young people on genocide, which is more critical and relevant than ever.

Our Message on Holocaust Memorial Day

“As Chair of Collingwood Learning it is with great pride that we support Holocaust Memorial Day. As educators, we believe nothing is more important than equipping young people with an understanding of the world around them and the lessons society can learn from recent and past events. Genocide scars our past, current times, and unless we educate others, the future.

Perhaps my most moving and inspiring experience was visiting Bosnia last year to understand the terrible events that took place in Srebrenica in 1995. This was part of a delegation with Remembering Srebrenica Scotland.

The result was that we developed Inseparable, an educational theatre experience for young people in Scotland dedicated to telling the stories of the victims of that conflict in a modern context, relevant to young people in Scotland today. Our goal was to promote inclusivity, tackle hate speech, and educate young people on the stages of genocide.

This remarkable project was welcomed in Scottish schools and we hope to re-visit schools again in 2024. Working with young people on these topics has galvanised our team and strengthened our mission as an organisation to tackle hate in all its forms. Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us all of the fragility of a society it is all too easy to take for granted. We must challenge all forms of hate and work hard to promote inclusivity for the betterment of generations to come”.

What is Holocaust Memorial Day?

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place every year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. It is an international day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution of other groups and in the more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. It is an occasion for everyone to come together to learn, remember and reflect.

Every year, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT) selects a theme for HMD and this year it is Fragility of Freedom. On HMD 2024, we can all reflect on how freedom is fragile and vulnerable to abuse. As we come together in communities around the UK, let’s pledge not to take our freedoms for granted, and consider what we can do to strengthen freedoms around the world.