24 November 2005
A two-day seminar for Belgian parliamentarians will open at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies Sunday. The seminar, held in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the support of the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) Humanitarian Fund, is the first seminar held specifically for politicians and opinion shapers.
Among the participants are Didier Reynders, Chairman of the Reformist Movement Party, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and Viviane Teitelbaum, a Member of Parliament who was a key supporter of the initiative, as well as members of both houses of Parliament and journalists. In April, a group of Belgian educators participated in a week-long seminar at Yad Vashem. Following that seminar, the idea for a seminar for politicians took shape. Yad Vashem hopes that this will be the first of similar seminars for politicians from other countries.
During the seminar, participants will tour the Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem, meet with Holocaust survivors and hear lectures on various aspects of the Holocaust.
Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies is responsible for Holocaust education in Israel and abroad. Activities provided by the School include study seminars, teacher training programs, curricula development, overseas programming and publications. The School is currently active in 22 countries and 11 languages.
