Holocaust centre vision unveiled

The vision for Canberra’s National Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre was unveiled to Jewish communal leaders and philanthropists at a Sydney lunch on April 22.

Former Labor government minister andn National Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre president Mike Kelly told The AJN the intent is “to create an institution here that isn’t trying to do anything that anybody else is doing”, but rather complement the efforts of other organisations in the battle against antisemitism.

The centre will focus on education rather than collections, targeting the 165,000 students who visit Canberra annually for school trips.

“What this institution is about is taking the opportunity, the unique opportunity of the education tourism process here,” Kelly told The AJN.

“Thirty per cent of them come from places that are so remote and rural that they’ll never have that opportunity to even meet a Jew, let alone be able to go to our museums in the capital cities.”