Agenda – American Councils

THIS WAS THE AGENDA FOR THE 2022 EDITION.

On the first day of activities of the Elie Wiesel Study Tour 2022, after the participants had breakfast they attended the Opening Ceremony where representatives of our partners took part and gave speeches: Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Mr. William J. O’Connor, Deputy Head of Mission at Embassy of the Netherlands in Romania, Ms. Hinke Nauta, Head of Cultural Section of the Embassy of Germany in Romania, Ms. Sandra Zipprich and Dr. Marius Cazan, scientific researcher at the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania

After the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Amir Sagron, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Romania, our partner, held a seminar on the theme: The History of Antisemitism. Mr. Csaba Asztalos, President of the National Council for Combating Discrimination held a seminar on the issue of discrimination and hate speech. In the afternoon, our participants took part in a series of team building activities, facilitated by Mr. Victor Vlăduț.

On the second day of the Pre-Departure Orientetion of the Elie Wiesel Study Tour 2022, our participants learned about the history of the Holocaust in Romania from Dr. Marius Cazan, expert at the “Elie Wiesel” National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania. Afterwards, they received valuable insights from Elie Wiesel Study Tour Alumni Bianca Pintilie, Vlad Marian Palangă and Madalin Blidaru. They told the participants of this edition about their Study Tour experience and how it influenced them. In the afternoon, Prof. Sorin Langu gave a seminar on anti-Semitism, Nazism and the Holocaust.

On August 22, the Elie Wiesel Study Tour participants joined the presentation ceremony of the Elie Wiesel Memorial House restoration project, organized by the US Embassy in Bucharest and the Maramureșean Museum in Sighetul Marmației.

Participants met with Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Romania, Shane Dixon, Cultural Attaché William O’Connor, the Mayor of the city, Vasile Moldovan, the manager of the Maramureșean Museum, Mirela Ana Barz and Alina Marincean, curator of the “Elie Wiesel” Memorial House.

August 23 was the first day of activity in Krakow, Poland, of the Elie Wiesel Study Tour 2022 participants. The day started with a touching guided tour of Schindler’s Factory. In the second part of the day the participants were given a speech by a representative of JCC Krakow about the Center and the Jewish Community of Krakow. After the activities they explored Krakow and Professor Langu Sorin spoke to them about the history of the city

The 7th day of the Elie Wiesel Study Tour was a day in which our participants enjoyed a guided tour of the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter. They learned about the life and customs of the local Jews. In the afternoon, Eliza Chirilă-Pop, Country Director American Councils – Romania, gave a workshop on how to implement a successful follow-on activity.

The eighth day of the Elie Wiesel Study Tour will surely remain in the memories of our participants. The visit to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau was an overwhelming one and one that etched the horrors that the victims of the Holocaust went through in the collective memory of the participants. They passed through places where victims were deported and subjected to unimaginable torment.

Day 9 was an opportunity for the Elie Wiesel Study Tour participants to visit Trnava, under the guidance of Professor Sorin Langu who provided them with historical information about the surroundings. Also in Trnava they took part in a public exhibition.

On the 10th day, the participants had a guided tour through the Jewish Quarter, Budapest, and a tour of the Holocaust Museum in the city. In the afternoon they visited the memorial “Shoes on the Danube Bank”, where Professor Langu explained to the participants the horrors the Hungarian Jews went through.

On the last day of the Elie Wiesel Study Tour 2022, our participants had a visit to Muzeon in Cluj, where they heard real stories of Romanian Jews. At the closing ceremony, all participants received diplomas to keep the memory of this project in physical form.