Best of CASE Europe Region Award
 

Institution: University of Sussex

Title of entry: Holocaust Memorial Commemoration day at Sussex

About this entry: Sussex was the first university in England and second in the UK to host a Holocaust Memorial event and this has become one of the University’s flagship annual events, attracting a large audience made up of staff, students, alumni as well as local schools and members of the local community.

The event is part of the University's commitment to ensuring that the tragic mistakes of the past are never repeated or forgotten, and to ensure that hatred, discrimination and racism do not go unchecked.

This event is made up of several parts. It commences with a lunch hosted by the Vice-Chancellor for supporters of the Centre for German Jewish Studies before. This is an important engagement piece as the work of the Centre relies heavily on donations to support its outreach programme.

The main part of the event takes place in our theatre on campus (capacity 350) and is also live-streamed and filmed. Since inception, we have been fortunate enough to feature a Holocaust survivor in the first session, and this is followed by a related film and Q&A with the film director in session 2. The event is always at capacity, and we are pleased to attract many 6th-formers from local schools.

What makes this event particularly special is the testimony from a Holocaust survivor, which cannot be compared to seeing this online or reading about the Holocaust in a book. We are privileged to be able to bring this event to our community. The feedback is always incredibly positive.