The UK has concluded its presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which ran from March 2024 to February 2025. The presidency’s theme, “In Plain Sight”, drew attention to the fact that the Holocaust did not happen in a dark corner. This highlighted the nature of society that allowed the murder of 6 million Jewish men, women and children, and shone a spotlight on all those who had a part to play.
Our presidency focused on safeguarding remembrance of the Holocaust and securing the narrative for the future. This included tackling Holocaust distortion, and exploring the role of artificial intelligence as a force for both good and bad in Holocaust education and distortion.
During our presidency, we delivered our ‘My Hometown’ project, supporting young people across the IHRA membership in learning about their local Holocaust history. Fifty six schools from across 15 countries took part. A gallery of all the projects can be found on our implementing partner’s website.
We also published the 80 Objects-80 Lives digital exhibition, delivered in partnership with the Association of Jewish Refugees. In the exhibition, Holocaust survivors shared personal stories connected to their possessions in a series of eighty short videos.
We were also pleased to work with the Association of Jewish Refugees to launch their new UK testimony portal. This brings together UK testimony on one platform for the first time.
The UK hosted 2 plenary meetings, bringing together around 300 IHRA delegates in Glasgow in June and London in December, to discuss efforts to strengthen Holocaust remembrance, education and research.
We made progress in a range of areas, including the launch of the Archival Access Forum, to facilitate the sharing of best practice in accessing and preserving Holocaust-related archive materials.
We launched guidance on the implementation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism for sporting institutions. We also hosted a successful Roma conference attended by representatives of the Roma community from across Europe, and launched IHRA’s recommendations for Teaching and Learning about the Roma.
Our presidency also explored the role of emerging technologies in Holocaust education and distortion. We co-hosted an event with the OSCE in Romania. This considered how artificial intelligence could be used as a force for good in Holocaust education and in identifying and tackling instances of antisemitism and Holocaust distortion online. It also explored its more negative uses in facilitating Holocaust distortion. We continued these discussions in the margins of the London plenary, during a follow up conference on the role of artificial intelligence
Domestically, we published the outcome of a review establishing the facts around the number of prisoners who died on Alderney during the Nazi occupation. This review played an important role in bringing to an end conspiracies and misinformation surrounding this crucial period of history.
Finally, we marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 25th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration on Holocaust Remembrance. In February, we brought together IHRA delegates alongside key figures who have played a role in strengthening international action on Holocaust commemoration over the past 25 years. Together we reflected on our achievements and look ahead to the future of remembrance.
The Holocaust will sadly soon move from our living memory into the history books, and we will no longer be able to hear survivors tell their stories first-hand. It is therefore essential that we continue to do all we can to safeguard Holocaust sites, encourage greater transparency of Holocaust-related archives, and promote testimony and the stories of Holocaust-related objects.
