The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) held one of the first post-Covid live events in the Jewish community this week, and the feedback received from the audience and participants prove it was a great success!
Acclaimed author Michael Rosen, best-selling authors Lily Ebert and her great grandson Dov Forman, Elisha Wiesel (son of Elie), and the writer and sociologist Anne Karpf were among the speakers for AJR’s two-day forum on the subject of connecting the next generations of Holocaust refugees and survivors.
This international forum was held online for both days, and also in person at Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge on Monday 4 October. AJR’s Debra Barnes said, “We’re delighted to have been able to hold elements of this event in person and really pleased that so many of our speakers and audience were able to come along.”
Panel discussions included themes such as the next generations telling their family stories, ways to bridge the generation gap in survivor families, dealing with intergenerational trauma, and the legacy of objects. There were also group sessions with psychotherapist Gaby Glassman.
Attendees included the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and refugees from all over the world, as well as Holocaust educators and colleagues from partner organisations who had the opportunity to showcase their resources in the ‘market place’.
AJR Chief Executive Michael Newman said, “As the demography of the AJR changes, the purpose of the conference was to connect the generations and to give a platform to speakers talking about a range of issues of interest to the descendants to whom it falls to carry the legacy.”
This event was sponsored by Chelsea Foundation as part of their #SayNoToAntisemitism campaign, and in partnership with the Jewish News.
