FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
An article by UNESCO media services
In the aftermaths of 70th anniversary commemorations of the end of the Second World War and the liberation of Nazi concentration and of extermination camps, the Aladdin project and UNESCO organize the first international conference in Africa on the prevention of genocide, the promotion of a culture of peace and the historical lessons of the Holocaust. Delegations of several ministries of education of Western Africa will participate.
The conference will involve eminent historians of the Holocaust and of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as well as human rights expert with a view to encourage sharing of experience amongst education stakeholders of the region and explore further strategies to introduce education about the history of genocides and a culture of peace in education policies of African countries, notably in support of UNESCO’s related activities in the region.
The Dakar conference is part of a larger series of 6 conferences on the same theme organized by the Aladdin Project in cooperation with UNESCO in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The first such event took place in Istanbul in 2013.
The Aladdin Project is an international organization based in Paris and created in 2009 under the auspices of UNESCO. The 30 members of its international board, representing different countries of Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, different faiths and cultures, are dedicated to promoting dialogue, mutual understanding, justice and fraternity. The organization strives to enhance intercultural exchanges based on mutual knowledge, education, respect of history, rejection of Holocaust denial and memorial conflicts through the search for peace over the culture of conflict and war.