We launch the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2019: Torn from home
Yesterday afternoon (Thursday 12 April) we launched the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2019 at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) - the government department which funds HMDT to support HMD across the UK.
Staff from the department were welcomed by Sally Sealey OBE and learnt more about the Genocide in Rwanda, hearing from: Dr Zoe Norridge, Chair of the Ishami Foundation, Marie Chantal Uwamahoro, a survivor of the Genocide in Rwanda and Vice Chair of the Rwandan survivor group Urumuri, and Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
The event was held as people across the country reflect on the 24th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda, which began in April 1994. HMD 2019 will include marking the 25th anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda.
The theme for HMD 2019: Torn from home encourages audiences to reflect on how the enforced loss of a safe place to call ‘home’ is part of the trauma faced by anyone experiencing persecution and genocide. ‘Home’ usually means a place of safety, comfort and security. On HMD 2019 we will reflect on what happens when individuals, families and communities are driven out of, or wrenched from their homes, because of persecution or the threat of genocide, alongside the continuing difficulties survivors face as they try to find and build new homes when the genocide is over.
Read more about the theme for HMD 2019 here.
We’ll be launching our HMD 2019 Activity Pack, further life stories and other resources to support HMD activities in September 2018. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear about our new resources.