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PROSPECTS FOR 2003
The “Year of Memories” project took place in Jičín in January. This was organized by the Baševi civic association. We were invited to present the “Neighbours Who Disappeared” exhibition in Jičín Library. Of particular interest was the new project work by pupils from Jičín and Hořice high schools, who surprised us with their original approach and the amount of facts and documents they had brought together. The exhibition was presented on 9 January by Fedor Gál, who – along with Baševi members Tereza Dubinová and Jan Kinderman – inspired the launch of this undertaking during a lecture he gave last year. In January we had an opportunity to gain new experience and to present the “Neighbours Who Disappeared” project as part of the conference Children’s Museum – Yes or No? in Brno and at the seminar How to Teach about the Holocaust in Krzyzow. It is, no doubt, thanks to the overall situation in the Czech Republic and the official support of the Office of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Education that it has been possible to realize this project to such an extent. In Poland teachers who deal with this theme feel separated from the others and find it harder to implement ideas relating to this theme. The exhibition also impressed the Mayor of the Praha 6, Tomáš Chalupa (exhibition opening on 7 February in Hendlova Court at the Church of St. Matthew). Thanks to the financial support (earmarked for partial payments to teachers and to art groups) of the Foundation of the Victims of the Holocaust we will be able to implement the “Day of Jewish Culture in the Regions” project. We are planning to undertake 5 or 6 projects in the regions, thereby opening up the possibility of permanent cooperation between the Jewish Museum’s Education and Culture Centre and local, mostly non-profit organizations, and, ideally, also with official representatives of the region, with a view to presenting educational programmes (workshops, projects and lectures) and highlighting Jewish culture (through theatre and music performances). The well-prepared project of the Baševi civic association was followed up by the local libraries of Nová Paka, Stará Paka and Turnov, where the exhibition will be on display until the end of the school year, hopefully supplemented by examples of new work. We therefore want to provide assistance to civic associations in related activities, which are also taking place independently of the Jewish Museum’s Education and Culture Centre and mostly without sponsorship or the financial support of local authorities. At present there are four copies of this exhibition (kept
at the Terezín Memorial, Simon Adler Museum in Dobrá voda, and the Jewish
Museum’s Education and Culture Centre. Copies of 12 panels (50/100 cm
in size) may be loaned on a short-term basis.) The fourth exhibition copy
is currently touring from Jičín to Nová Paka, Stará Paka and Turnov. In
February we are preparing a short presentation of the project for teachers
– participants of the Terezín seminar How to Teach about the Holocaust.
A group under the guidance of the teacher Ms. Burdová from Litomyšl will
be coming in March.. We are preparing to visit children at an elementary
school in Hartmanice (in cooperation with the Simon Adler Museum in Dobrá
voda) and also to present the project to the Club of Children’s Libraries
in South Moravia. Marta
Vančurová |