Transnational seminar in Skopje for Macedonian and Bulgarian teachers

The Shoah Memorial organized in Skopje, from 29 August to 2 September 2017, a transnational seminar bringing together 40 Macedonian and Bulgarian teachers, in cooperation with the Memorial of the Jews of Macedonia, the ministries of education of the two committed countries, the association of history teachers of Bulgaria and the Macedonian ministry of foreign affairs.

Group of interns in front of the Memorial of the Jews of Macedonia © Camila Ubillus

Entitled "The Holocaust as a starting point: compare and share", this event aimed to engage in a lasting historical dialogue through education between partners for whom divergent narratives relating to the regional history of the Holocaust (memory of the Bulgarian "rescue" against the deportations of the communities of Stip, Bitola and Skopje) have been a factor of tension since the 1990s.

This is a first in relations between the two countries. It will be renewed in 2018 in Sofia. It is also part of a scheme initiated by the Shoah Memorial on the Yugoslav space since 2015 and extended during this year to 9 other key European regions in terms of memory fractures and neighborhood tensions.

This seminar benefited from funding from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and support from the "Europe for Citizens" programme.

Intervention of a first counselor at the French embassy in Macedonia © Camila Ubillus