Programme

Times correspond to the local time in Germany. The event will be held in German, English and in French.

Welcome address and introduction

Host: Dr. Martin Doerry, Der Spiegel
25 November 2020

08:30 - 09:15

Introduction Hendrik Hering, President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Parliament Welcoming address Malu Dreyer, Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Welcoming address H.E. Jeremy Nissim Issacharoff, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Federal Republic of Germany Welcoming address H.E. Igor César, Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda in the Federal Republic of Germany

Module 1: Importance of a culture of remembrance for democracy, justice, human rights and reconciliation

Host: Dr. Martin Doerry, Der Spiegel
25 November 2020

09:30 - 10:00	What works, what can state politics in Rhineland-Palatinate contribute to promoting commemoration and remembrance of National Socialism and the genocide in Rwanda? A moderated conversation between Hendrik Hering, President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Parliament Dr Stefanie Hubig, Minister for Education, Rhineland-Palatinate Roger Lewentz, Minister of the Interior and for Sport, Rhineland-Palatinate
10:00 - 10:20	Q & A with Hendrik Hering, Dr Stefanie Hubig and Roger Lewentz
10:20 - 10:30	BREAK
10:30 - 11:00	How do you reach pupils and young people with the topics of National Socialism and genocide in Rwanda? A moderated conversation between Friedrich Byusa Blam Was born two months before the genocide in Rwanda, survived due to his parents fleeing to Germany at the end of May 1994. He grew up in Rwanda until the age of four, where his parents helped with reconstruction. In addition to studying art history, he works as a freelance music producer for various theatre productions and represents youth on the board of the association IBUKA Deutschland – Erinnerung und Gerechtigkeit (Remembrance and Justice). Christof Pies As a secondary school teacher, he has been involved in commemorative work on a voluntary basis for over 30 years, in particular with young people. He is a founding member and chairman of the Förderkreis Synagoge Laufersweiler e. V.  and has published numerous publications on Jewish life in Rhineland-Palatinate. He is a member of the Speakers' Council of the State Working Group for Memorials and Remembrance Initiatives During the Nazi Era in Rhineland-Palatinate. Tlalit Kitzoni Tlalit Kitzoni is working as an educator for “Mul Nevo”, an Israeli center for progressive education and dialogue, taking both high-school and university students on educational trips to Poland and Germany. With a B.Ed in democratic Education and further training in the World Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem, Tlalit came to Germany in 2013 for a voluntary service with “Action Reconciliation Service for Peace” in the House of the Wannsee Conference. There she got acquainted with the way Germany deals with its National-Socialist past and the Holocaust, and facilitated workshops for Israelis and German teenagers and educators. This was done in the context of youth exchanges between the two countries. She is currently finishing her M.A. in Holocaust Studies in Haifa University.
11:00 - 11:15	BREAK
11:15 - 11:35	Q & A with Friedrich Byusa Blam, Christof Pies & Tlalit Kitzoni
11:35 - 11:45	BREAK
11:45 - 12:15	What role does art and culture play in dealing with “mass violence” and genocide? A moderated conversation between Prof. Dr Gad Kaynar Kissinger The professor emeritus in the Department of Theater Arts at Tel Aviv University was Chairman of the Israeli Society for Theatre Research and is President of the Israeli Centre of the International Theater Institute. His research interests include Jewish theatre, the Holocaust in theatre as well as theatre and education. Prof. Dr Mirjam Wenzel The literary scholar has been the director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt since 2016. In her research work, she deals, among other things, with German-Jewish art and cultural history, the representation of the Holocaust in the visual arts, photography and film, as well as Jewish culture in the past and present. Among other things, she is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe Foundation. Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo Rwandan Filmmaker
12:15 - 12:35	Q & A with Prof. Dr Gad Kaynar Kissinger, Prof. Dr Mirjam Wenzel & Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo
12:35 - 12:45	BREAK

Module 2: Different challenges of the cultures of remembrance in the three countries Israel, Rwanda and Germany

Moderation: Shahrzad Osterer, Bayerischer Rundfunk
25 November 2020

12:45 - 13:45	Remembrance Culture in Israel: Challenges of commemoration and remembrance Lecture by Dr Noa Mkayton Dr. Noa Mkayton is the Director of the International Education and Training Department at Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies. Yad Vashem is the international Holocaust memorial. In this position, she is responsible for the development of the department as well as for the development of teaching materials and training programs. Lecture by Prof. Dr Moshe Zimmermann Until his retirement, the Israeli historian held a professorship for modern history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he was the director of the Richard Koebner Centre for German History. Zimmermann was a member of the Foreign Office's Independent Historians' Commission and published numerous works on German-Jewish history, German-Jewish relations, as well as work on remembrance and the Holocaust. A conversation with the host will follow.
13:45 - 13:55	BREAK
13:55 - 14:15	Q & A with Prof. Dr Moshe Zimmermann & Dr Noa Mkayton
14:15 - 14:30	BREAK
14:30 - 15:30	Remembrance Culture in Rwanda: Challenges of commemoration and remembrance Lecture by Dr h. c. Esther Mujawayo-Keiner The Rwandan sociologist, trauma therapist and author is co-founder of the Association des Veuves du Genocide d'Avil, the association of the widows of the genocide of April 1994. The organization provides counselling as well as medical and psychotherapeutic care to widows and other survivors, runs employment projects and assists with legal proceedings. She works as a trauma therapist with severely traumatized refugees in Düsseldorf. Lecture by Assumpta Mugiraneza Assumpta Mugiraneza is a French-Rwandan intellectual, co-founder and director of the IRIBA Centre for Multimedia Heritage, an audiovisual archive centre for speech and dialogue and for the process of dealing with the past. The IRIBA Centre is freely and openly accessible to all and is located at the intersections between science and practice. It designs and supports psychosocial, pedagogical and artistic programs to rebuild intergenerational links. As part of the “Négocier un Futur partagé” program, she initiated projects for young people who deal with history through working with archives and art. She is the author and co-author of research articles and books about the history of extreme violence and genocide in the 20th century. A conversation with the host will follow.
15:30 - 15:45	BREAK
15:45 - 16:05	Q & A with Dr h.c. Esther Mujawayo-Keiner & Assumpta Mugiraneza
16:05 - 16:15	BREAK
16:15 - 17:15	Remembrance Culture in Germany: Challenges of commemoration and remembrance Lecture by Prof. Dr Dr h. c. Aleida Assmann The English scholar and Egyptologist was a professor of English and general literature at the University of Konstanz until 2014. Her research focuses on cultural anthropology, in particular on cultural memory, remembering and forgetting. Together with her husband, she developed the theory of cultural memory. Lecture by Prof. Dr Michael Brenner He holds the chair for Jewish history and culture at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies at the American University in Washington D.C., where he is also the director of the Center for Israel Studies. He is International President of the Leo Baeck Institute. He researches and publishes on Jewish history, Jewish culture and most recently on the effects of the November Revolution of 1918 on the heterogeneous Jewish population of Munich. A conversation with the host will follow.
17:15 - 17:30	BREAK
17:30 - 17:50	Q & A with Prof. Dr Dr h. c. Aleida Assmann & Prof. Dr Michael Brenner
17:50 - 17:55	BREAK
17:55 - 18:15	The relations between Rhineland-Palatinate, Israel and Rwanda A conversation between Ruth Ratter, President of the Friends Association of Givat Haviva Germany Dr. Richard Auernheimer, President of the Partnership Association Rhineland-Palatinate/Rwanda Shahrzad Eden Osterer, Host

Module 3: Good project examples from practitioners of memorial work and success factors for successful project work as well as strategies for dealing with difficulties

Moderation: Shahrzad Osterer, Bayerischer Rundfunk
26 November 2020

09:30 - 10:30	Practical examples of memorial work in Rwanda Lecture by Honoré Gatera Is the Manager of the Gisozi National Memorial in Kigali. Honore has hosted thousands of visitors including many Heads of State and other visitors to Rwanda. He has contributed to preserving the memory of the Genocide against the Tutsi by attending various trainings related to the genocide prevention and education in England, USA, Germany and Poland. He has travelled around the world participating in conferences and meetings raising awareness on genocide as a global threat to humanity. Honore is responsible for the daily operations of the Kigali Genocide Memorial including visits, maintenance, psychological support and administration. Honore is a graduate of Kigali independent University with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science. Lecture by Honourable Senator Dr Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu Is the former President of IBUKA Association (« Remember »), a collective that brings together around fifteen associations of survivors of the Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi. PhD in Psychology from University of Toulouse, he is the author of several articles focusing mainly on psychosocial reconstruction in Rwanda. Formal Dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the National University of Rwanda (now University of Rwanda), he participated in the establishment of various private higher institutions in Rwanda as the technical advisor and professor of Psychology. He served for two terms as commissioner of the Rwandan National Commission for UNESCO and the National Commission for the Fight against the Genocide (CNLG). Lecture by Dr Jean Damascène Bizimana Is Executive Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) in the Republic of Rwanda. The CNLG’s Mission is to prevent and fight against Genocide, its ideology and overcoming its consequences. A conversation with the host will follow.
10:30 - 10:45	BREAK
10:45 - 11:15	Q & A with Honoré Gatera, Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu & Dr Jean Damascène-Bizimana
11:15 - 11:30	BREAK
11:30 - 12:30	Practical examples of memorial work in Israel Lecture by Yaniv Sagee He is the Chief Executive Officer of Givat Haviva. The Israeli education and dialogue institution advocates Jewish-Arab understanding, the integration of the Arab minority into the Jewish state of Israel and peace research in the Middle East. Lecture by Orit Margaliot Deputy Director Guiding Department Yad Vashem Lecture by Noam Leibman Leibman is Guidance Coordinator at Moreshet. He is responsible for all the educational activities of the Holocaust Study and Research Center, including training for the guides. Moreshet was founded in 1961. Most of the founders were former Jewish partisans and ghetto fighters, who arrived in Israel after World War II. This group took upon itself a historic mission: to give real expression to the last wishes and requests of hundreds of Holocaust survivors by presenting their testimonies and artifacts future generations. A conversation with the host will follow.
12:30 - 12:45	BREAK
12:45 - 13:15	Q & A with Yaniv Sagee, Orit Margaliot & Noam Leibman
13:15 - 14:15	LUNCH BREAK
14:15 - 15:15	Practical examples of memorial work in Germany Lecture by Ralf Hron Is a founding member and since 2018 Chairman of the Board of the Netzwerk für Demokratie und Courage e. V., the Network of Democracy and Courage. The association is a nationwide network supported by young people that campaigns for the promotion of democracy and against inhuman thinking. The association's main task training young people as multipliers for democracy education in schools and vocational schools. Lecture by Dr Barbara Köster She is the head of the visitor service and museum education at the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The memorial in the middle of Berlin is the central Holocaust memorial in Germany. It was officially opened on 10 May 2005. The memorial consists of a field of stelae designed by Peter Eisenman and the underground information centre. Lecture by Martina Ruppert-Kelly and Steffen Reinhard Ruppert-Kelly is responsible for pedagogy at the memorial Osthofen concentration camp. Reinhard is a history teacher and has been responsible for pedagogy at the memorial Hinzert SS Special camp/concentration camp since 2008. Since 2005, Hinzert has had a documentation and meeting house providing information on the history and the prisoners of the Hinzert SS special camp/concentration camp. From October 1939 to March 1945, as far as we know today, around 10,000 male prisoners from all countries occupied by the Wehrmacht suffered in the Hinzert concentration camp. A conversation with the host will follow.
15:15 - 15:30	BREAK
15:30 - 16:00	Q & A with Dr Barbara Köster, Ralf Hron, Martina Ruppert-Kelly & Steffen Reinhard
16:00 - 16:30	Concluding discussion Hendrik Hering, President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Parliament Prof. Dr Andrea Geier The professor for German Literature and Gender Studies in the Department of German Philology at Trier University is in the executive committee of the Center for Postcolonial and Gender Studies (CePoG). In her research work, she deals, among other things, with Transnational cultures of remembrance.