The FRH Torch of Heritage and Culture continued its European trip, arriving at the Urban Jewish Heritage Conference in Krakow, Poland, which took place on 3-7 September 2018.
The Urban Jewish Heritage Conference was organised by the Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage (University of Birmingham) and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, in association with the City of Krakow and Villa Decius Association, Creative Europe, Future for Religious Heritage and The European Association for the Promotion of Jewish Culture. It brought together academics, planners, policy makers and community leaders in addressing relevant issues for cities with Jewish Heritage, with topics ranging from tourism and sustainability to conservation and representation. The conference was hosted in the beautiful setting of the Villa Decius, a historical complex and renaissance palace, which housed a literary and cultural salon of Krakow since the second half of the 16th century.
FRH committed for Jewish Heritage
On September 4th, FRH Council Secretary Lilian Grootswagers participated in the joint panel ‘Creating a Future for Places of Religion and Ritual’ with the President of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee PRERICO, Ms Hae Un Rii. FRH attended other inspiring sessions, including a special one on Thursday 6th September, titled ‘Jewish Heritage and the European Ideal’, which included the participation of the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Mr Tibor Navracsics, and the European Commissioner for Single Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska. During his speech, Mr Navracsics signalled the FRH Torch initiative as a positive endeavour within the framework of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, encouraging citizens to share their stories and memories.
FRH Torch Ceremony
On that same day at 17:10, the FRH Torch Ceremony took place. We are proud to announce that five new contributors added their testimonies to our treasure box, including; Ms Hester Abrams, Project leader of the Willesden Cemetery “House of Life”, The United Synagogue; Ms Ruth Ellen Gruber, Director of Jewish-heritage-europe.eu; Ms Zsofia Maroti, PhD researcher at the Central European University; Mr Mike Robinson, Director of the Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage at the University of Birmingham; and Ms Susanne Urban, Executive Manager of the ShUM-Cities Association.
See all photos from the event on our Flikr album!
FRH thanks all contributors for adding their memories and stories to the legacy of the EYCH 2018!
You can also join the initiative!
As Janet Gough OBE said in her letter: Our challenge is to create the conditions to sustain a working partnership of local and national support to preserve, use and develop these precious historic religious buildings to serve everyone now and for the future. FRH is truly hoping that the Initiative will motivate European citizens to share their stories and raise awareness about the importance of religious heritage. Because, as Henrik Lindblad concludes in his letter, We can never promote and inform enough about the values of historic churches. The importance of safeguarding, documenting and studying these very fragile monuments should always be emphasized.
Do you agree? Would you like to support our Initiative? Will you add to our treasure box and share a memory? It’s so simple! Click here and send us your letter, which we will then publish on the FRH Torch website!
#SocialMedia users!
Help spread the word about the FRH Torch Initiative, religious heritage and the European Year of Cultural Heritage by sharing our information and using the following hashtags: #FRHTorch #EuropeForCulture #EYCH2018 #religiousHeritage #FRHParis2018.
Follow-up:
Follow us: