International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust 2022; January 27th.

The United Nations Marks the 2022 International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Holocaust Victims under the theme, 'Memory, Dignity and Justice'.

Statement by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, on the International day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

Today we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who perished in the Holocaust, the Roma and Sinti, and the countless other victims of its unprecedented horror and calculated cruelty. The Holocaust defined the United Nations. Our very name was coined to describe the alliance fighting the Nazi regime and its allies. Our Charter was drafted in San Francisco as the Dachau concentration camp was liberated. The United Nations must always be on the frontline of the fight against antisemitism and all other forms of religious bigotry and racism. Today, we witness an alarming resurgence of xenophobia and hate. Antisemitism – the oldest and most persistent form of prejudice – is rising yet again. Attempts to downplay or downright deny the Holocaust are proliferating. No society is immune to irrationality or intolerance. We must never forget that the Holocaust could have been prevented. The desperate pleas of the victims fell on deaf ears. Too few spoke out, too few listened – fewer still stood up in solidarity. Remembering the past is crucial to safeguarding the future. Silence in the face of hatred is complicity. Today, let us commit to never be indifferent to the suffering of others, and never forget what happened or let it be forgotten by others. Let us pledge to always be vigilant and uphold human rights and dignity for all. Thank you.

U.N. Secretary-General.

EVENTS

The United Nations annual ceremony marking the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust will take place virtually this year, and will be livestreamed worldwide on 27 January at 11 a.m. Under the theme “Memory, Dignity and Justice”, the ceremony is an expression of the United Nations unwavering commitment to promoting human rights, countering anti-Semitism and racism, and to preventing future genocide.

Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, will host the ceremony. Speakers include the Secretary-General; the President of the General Assembly; and the Permanent Representatives of Israel and the United States. Holocaust scholar and philosopher, Professor John K. Roth will deliver the keynote address.

The ceremony will include testimonies from the Holocaust survivors from Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States; children and grandchildren of Jewish and Romani Holocaust survivors; and speakers from diverse regions, age, gender and ethnicity, who will share how their values, choices and commitments to advancing human rights have been shaped by their encounters with the history of the Holocaust. Alice Nderitu, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide is featured.

Violinist Pinchas Zukerman and pianist Shai Wosner will perform Berceuse Sfaradite (Sephardic Lullaby) by Paul Ben-Haim (1897–1984). Rabbi Arthur Schneier of Park East Synagogue and Cantor Daniel Mendelson of Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, New York, will recite memorial prayers.

The ceremony can be watched on UN Web TV, the United Nations YouTube channel or the Twitter and Facebook pages of UN WebTV. Guests are invited to register and receive links and updates about the ceremony, or follow the conversation on social media with the hashtag #HolocaustRemembrance.

Other Holocaust remembrance and education events in early 2022 include the exhibition “After the End of the World: Displaced Persons and Displaced Persons Camps” on view at United Nations Headquarters through 20 February; a virtual civil society briefing “The Future of Memory: Holocaust Remembrance, History and New Media” (3 February); virtual screenings and discussion of the documentary The Last Survivors (10 February); and a virtual discussion with Elisabeth Anthony, author of The Compromise of Return: Viennese Jews after the Holocaust (17 February).

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, Department of Global Communications, was established by General Assembly resolution 60/7 in 2005 to remind the world of the perspective that the Holocaust provides relevant to preventing future genocides. The Programme has established a global network of partners and developed versatile initiatives including educational resources, professional development programmes, panel discussions and exhibitions.

For more information, please contact Tracey Petersen at email: petersen3@un.org.

CONCERTS

On 27 January 2022, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, the United Nations Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council, will perform a virtual concert in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The classical music programme will feature Jewish composers, to instill the memory of the tragedy in future generations to prevent genocide from occurring again. It will also feature special performances from musicians from Maestro Daniel Barenboim’s West–Eastern Divan Orchestra.

 

In addition, the concert will feature artwork by Roy Nachum. Founded in 2016, the United Nations Chamber Music Society carries out the United Nations’ mission of peace, understanding and cooperation, through the universal language of music.

EXHIBITS

On 27 January 2022 we will commemorate the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, only a small group of guest, mainly survivors, will take part in the commemoration at the site of the Memorial. The entire event will be available in online broadcast.

 

As part of UNESCO’s annual events to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, UNESCO and the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain present the exhibition “Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors” on the fences of UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This virtual launch highlights the over 50 contemporary photos of Holocaust survivors and their families included in the exhibition, shining a light on the full lives they have lived and the collective responsibility to cherish their stories. #HolocaustRemembrance #WeRemember

Exhibition launch: Generations – Portraits of Holocaust survivors.

'Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors'. RPS Gallery, 27 Jan - 27 Mar 22

International Day of Education 2022; January 24th.

The theme of the 2022 International Day of Education, "Changing Course, Transforming Education", thus alerts us to the challenges and the need to devise means for delivering education.


                       

Summary: The role of education for peace and development in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Description: Virtual event organized by the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and of El Salvador to the United Nations in New York in collaboration with the Permanent Observer Mission of the University for Peace to the United Nations.


The role of education for peace and development has faced unprecedented challenges because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While innovative means have been developed to deliver education through virtual means, the lack of internet connectivity and technology in some parts of the world make the task extremely difficult, if not impossible.

STATEMENTS

Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Day of Education, 24 January 2022.

As we mark the fourth International Day of Education, our world stands at a turning point. Glaring inequalities, a damaged planet, growing polarization and the devastating impact of the pandemic present us with a generational choice: continue on an unsustainable path or radically change course. Education can help us solve all of these issues – but it faces serious challenges. We have yet to deliver on our commitment to ensure the right to quality education for all. COVID-19 disruptions have only exacerbated an educational crisis that, even before the pandemic, excluded 268 million children from school, especially girls. As a result of this exclusion, millions of children, youth and adults are exposed to poverty, violence and exploitation. In these exceptional times, business as usual is no longer an option. If we are to transform the future, if we are to change course, we must rethink education. This means forging a new social contract for education, as called for by the UNESCO report on the Futures of Education, released last November. We need to repair past injustices and orient the digital transformation around inclusion and equity. And we need education to fully contribute to sustainable development – for instance, by integrating environmental education in all curricula and by training teachers in this field. To do this, we need to support education financially, keeping in mind that it is not an expense, but an investment. This is why our Member States reaffirmed their commitment to devoting at least 4% of GDP, or at least 15% of public spending, to education, in the Paris Declaration adopted during UNESCO’s Global Education Meeting last November. We also need to strengthen international aid and global cooperation, because this pandemic is a stark reminder of just how fragile and interconnected our societies are. We can only effect this change together, through solidarity and cooperation. This calls for a broad movement encompassing governments, civil society, educators, students and young people to mobilize our collective intelligence and reimagine our future together. This is our message for this International Day of Education – because education is a common good, a fundamental right and the foundation of a sustainable future.

Audrey Azoulay.

Statement from the U.N. Secreatry General on the occasion of the International Day of Education 2020; January 24th

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos in education worldwide.

Some 1.6 billion school and college students had their studies interrupted at the peak of the pandemic -- and it’s not over yet.

Today, school closures continue to disrupt the lives of over 31 million students, exacerbating a global learning crisis.

Unless we take action, the share of children leaving school in developing countries who are unable to read could increase from 53 to 70 percent.

But the turmoil in education goes beyond questions of access and inequality.

Our world is changing at a dizzying pace, with technological innovation, unprecedented changes in the world of work, the onset of the climate emergency, and a widespread loss of trust between people and institutions.

Conventional education systems are struggling to deliver the knowledge, skills and values we need to create a greener, better and safer future for all.

Education is a preeminent public good, and an essential enabler for the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The international community cannot afford to be agnostic about its provision, quality and relevance.

That is why I am convening a Summit on Transforming Education later this year.

The time has come to reignite our collective commitment to education.

That means investing in comprehensive plans to help students recover from learning losses.

It means putting education at the heart of broader recovery efforts, aimed at transforming economies and societies and accelerating progress on sustainable development.

It means financial solidarity with developing countries.

And it means embarking on a process of reflection and analysis to identify how national education systems can evolve and transform between now and 2030.

The Summit on Transforming Education will be the first time that world leaders, young people and all education stakeholders come together to consider these fundamental questions.

On this International Day of Education, and as we prepare for the Summit later this year, I call on everyone to unite around education as a public good and a top political priority for the recovery and beyond.

António Guterres.

World Braille Day 2022; January 4.

The system was invented by Frenchman Louis Braille nearly 200 years ago. Braille is a tactile language used by blind and partially sighted people. Combinations of raised dots represent each letter and number, and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols, so that books and periodicals can be read through touch.

 
Access for all

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates at least one billion people globally have a near or distance vision impairment that could have been prevented, or has yet to be addressed. Life under lockdown has posed challenges for the visually impaired, including in terms of independence and isolation, according to the UN. TheCOVID-19 Pandemic has also revealed the importance of having information available in Braille and audio formats, otherwise many persons with disabilities could face higher risk of contamination. The pandemic has also underscored the need to ramp up digital accessibility for all people.


Disability-inclusive response

During the pandemic, several UN agencies have been implementing good practices towards a disability-inclusive response and disseminating information in Braille.

For example, in Malawi, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has produced more than 4,000 braille materials on awareness and prevention of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, in Ethiopia, the UN human rights office (OHCHR), disseminated audio information, as well as education and communication materials, to media professionals, and developed Braille versions of the educational messages.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also produced guidance notes in multiple languages and accessible formats, including Braille and ‘easy-to-read’ versions.

Its note on COVID-19: Considerations for Children and Adults with Disabilities addresses issues that include access to information; water, sanitation and hygiene; healthcare, education, child protection, and mental health and psychosocial support.

Awareness of human rights

The UN General Assembly established 4 January as  World Braille Day in 2019 to raise awareness of the role Braille has in the full realization of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the blind and partially sighted. Braille is essential in the context of education, freedom of expression and opinion, as well as social inclusion, as outlined under article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.




In a post on Twitter, the President of the UN General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, commended Braille as a tool for freedom of expression, access to information and social inclusion."This has never been truer than in the times of isolation brought on by #COVID19," he wrote.

Braille at UN Geneva

EXHIBITS: Louis Braille: His Legacy and Influence. Online Exhibition at Library of Congress.