Main organizers of the conference:

The commemoration ceremony on 2 August is organized by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the Association of Roma in Poland in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. An international coalition of leading stakeholders in the field is formed to enhance recognition, remembrance and visibility of the Memorial Day. The conference is organized in cooperation with the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture and the “Dikh He Na Bister” initiative of ternYpe International Roma Youth Network within the European Union and Council of Europe Joint Programme “Roma Holocaust Remembrance and Education – RomaMemory”.

About the international conference

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of 2 August 1944, the European Holocaust Memorial Day for Roma and Sinti, this international conference addresses recognition, remembrance and education about the Holocaust of Roma and Sinti with a focus on ways to carry survivors’ testimonies into the future and making their voices heard. The conference engages experts, advocates, academics and policymakers in plenary sessions and thematic panels on topics such as the role of testimonies of Roma and Sinti Holocaust survivors and the representation of their voices in spaces of memory as well as transgenerational perspectives on memory. The conference also connects recognition and remembrance of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust with the fight against antigypsyism today, focusing on coalition-building and policy-making, transitional justice processes and educational approaches. The conference aims to foster dialogue, exchange knowledge, and develop strategies to ensure that the experiences of Roma and Sinti Holocaust are remembered, honoured, and integrated into academic, remembrance and educational discourses, contributing to more inclusive, just and respectful societies free of antigypsyism.