On the 16th of November in commemoration of the International Day of Tolerance, a seminar “Historical Memory and its Education” was held at the Regional Museum in Kėdainiai.
The seminar started with a speech on the diplomats – rescuers of the Jews, delivered by Dr. Linas Venclauskas, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in VMU. Historian Linas Venclauskas presented to the audience not only personal stories of the Japanese Consul Chijun Sugihara and the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Lithuania Jan Zwartendijk, but also introduced the political situation in Lithuania in 1939-1940 and the realities of that time. Ingrida Vilkienė, a coordinator of educational programs of the International Commission, presented the participants of the seminar with situations on intolerance, stereotypical thinking, anti-Semitic attacks, and hatred. Together with the participants of the seminar, the situations shown were discussed, and the videos were screened by analyzing how people would react to similar situations in Kėdainiai or another Lithuanian town. Audronė Pečiulytė, Head of the Kėdainiai Multicultural Center, summed up the seminar and invited students to discuss the methods and information that were interesting and attractive to young people in terms of tolerance and intolerance. Several students of Kėdainiai „Šviesiosios“ Gymnasium got involved in the discussion about the civic position, about the importance of not being an indifferent and passive observer.
The seminar “Historical Memory and its Education” held in Kėdainiai is a part of the project “As long as Memory is Alive” implemented by the Regional Museum Multicultural Center of Kėdainiai, funded by Kėdainiai District Municipality.
Photos by Kėdainiai District Museum