Holocaust Memorial Day 2015

27 January sees Islington Council marking Holocaust Memorial Day with a special event featuring a personal account from Holocaust survivor Joan Salter and a presentation from Bosnian refugee Zrinka Bralo.

Islington Deputy Mayor Cllr Richard Greening will open the event which will also be addressed by Council Leader Richard Watts, Jeremy Corbyn MP and Jenette Arnold AM.

The Assembly Hall on Upper St, N1, will be the gathering place for Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 with an eminent discussion panel fielding questions on the topic 'Learning from the past to create a better future.'

The thought-provoking event will examine the reality and lessons of genocide and how it continues to affect the world today.  

Cllr Richard Watts, Leader of Islington Council said: 

"On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember all the lives cut short by violent prejudice.

"At the same time, we reaffirm our commitment to keeping Islington a diverse and tolerant place where residents of all backgrounds can enjoy life without fear.

"Recent events abroad demonstrate we cannot take society's freedoms for granted - which is why this year's Holocaust Memorial Day has particular resonance.

"We are proud to read the Statement of Commitment and teach our young people we must take nothing for granted in the quest for peace."

The event runs from 10.30am – 1.45pm and up to 150 people are expected to attend including pupils form seven Islington schools.  

Holloway School will make two poetry readings and Highbury Fields School band will give a musical performance.

All residents are welcome.

 




Notes to editors

* Holocaust Memorial Day in Islington is organised by Islington Council and supported by the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. * As part of the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, a Statement of Commitment is read out by all participants - faith groups, LGBT groups, the council and schools - declaring our continuing pledge to make Islington a place where people from every background can live together in harmony. * Islington Schools attending are: Holloway School Central Foundation School Highbury Fields School Highbury Grove School Islington Arts and Media School Mount Carmel School New River Green PRU * Joan Salter: Child Holocaust Survivor Joan was born in Belgium in February 1940 to Polish Jewish parents and was three months old when Belgium was invaded by the Germans. Her father was taken. Her mother carried Joan and her sister down through France and over the mountains into Spain. Joan was fostered in the USA where her name and background were changed. Her paternal parents survived the war and in 1947 they were reunited in England. * Zrinka Bralo: Bosnian refugee Zrinka was a national radio journalist in Bosnia who reported on the genocide in Srebencia and co-ordinated international media coverage working with some of the world’s leading war correspondents before fleeing to UK and safety in 2001. She has served as head of the Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum in London and as a Commissioner on the Independent Asylum Commission ending immigration detention of children in 2010. For more information, contact grace.plester@islington.gov.uk or call 020 7527 3174. To find out more about Holocaust Memorial Day in Islington, go to our website: www.islington.gov.uk

Contact information

If you are a member of the public with a general question about the council please view the contact information on our website or call 020 7527 2000.