On October 8, 2025, students from the VU Faculty of Communication attended the first session of the international IMAGINE project at the Paneriai Memorial.
The session, entitled “The Stories of Lithuanian Jews and Paneriai,” was designed to familiarize students with the history of the Paneriai Memorial and to analyze the stories of people whose family histories and fates are connected to this tragic place.
First, Ingrida Vilkienė (Secretariat of the International Commission) introduced the students to the history of Paneriai. Later, the students were divided into groups, and each group was given a task. They searched for answers independently or in groups, walking around the Paneriai Memorial territory, analyzing the inscriptions on the monuments and information stands. The answers found by the working groups were discussed by all groups together, and, for reinforcement, the monuments were visited while discussing the stories of individual people. All students who participated in the activity in Paneriai were visiting this site of mass murder for the first time. There were 32 participants in the activity.
The international IMAGINE project is being implemented in seven European countries and was initiated by Centropa. This year, the project is dedicated to activities with students and is being implemented in Lithuania by the Secretariat of the International Commission in cooperation with the Faculty of Communication of Vilnius University.
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