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All news (31)
Switzerland welcomes newly adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance strategy framework at plenary meeting in Geneva
29.06.2017
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Press releases
EDA
At its plenary meeting in Geneva under Switzerland's chairmanship, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) has adopted its first strategy framework to increase the impact of its efforts to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and prevent future genocides. Benno Bättig, secretary general of the FDFA and current IHRA chair, praised the work of the IHRA delegates in Geneva.
Students from the French-speaking part of Switzerland translate Memoirs of Holocaust survivors
26.06.2017
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Article
EDA
On the occasion of the first plenary meeting under Swiss chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on 26th June in Geneva, students from Geneva and Bienne present the outcome of their work. They worked for many months to translate the Memoirs of the Holocaust survivors who live in Switzerland.
Lest we forget: Switzerland promotes education and research into the Holocaust

26.06.2017
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Press releases
EDA
This week the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is to hold its plenary meeting in Geneva under Switzerland’s chairmanship. The IHRA aims to promote research and education about the Holocaust and to keep alive the memory of the victims through commemorations and memorials. The Swiss chair organised an event today, the first day of the meeting, at which pupils from schools in Geneva and Biel/Bienne presented their translations of the memoirs of Holocaust survivors.
"Meetings between students and Holocaust survivors remain the best way of fighting Holocaust denial"

07.03.2017
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Article
EDA
This year, Switzerland is assuming the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Its new chair, FDFA secretary general Benno Bättig, discusses his role, Switzerland's priorities and the importance of raising youth awareness.
Lest we forget – Switzerland takes over chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

07.03.2017
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Press releases
EDA
Ambassador Benno Bättig, Secretary General of the FDFA and head of the Swiss delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), today took up the office of chair of the IHRA for a period of one year. The priorities of the Swiss chairmanship include teaching and education, young people and social media. The IHRA, which has 31 member states, aims to promote research and education about the Holocaust and to bear its victims in remembrance through commemorative celebrations and memorials.
Remembrance as a bridge
27.01.2017
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EDA
Message from the President of the Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2017
International conference in Switzerland on research into education about the Holocaust
15.02.2016
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Press releases
EDA
An international conference on research into education about the Holocaust is held in Lucerne on 15 and 16 February 2016. It is the first conference organised by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Switzerland. The event aims to provide an overview of the findings of the latest research worldwide on how the Holocaust is taught. Around 150 people from almost 40 countries will take part in the conference. Switzerland will take up the IHRA chairmanship in 2017.
Switzerland to chair the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2017

05.11.2015
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Press releases
EDA
The 31 member countries accepted today Switzerland's candidacy for the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2017. The Federal Council had supported this candidacy on the proposal of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). During its chairmanship in 2017, the FDFA will continue to work closely on this issue with the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education and with organisations that are active in Switzerland in promoting human rights.
"Promoting tolerance and combating anti-Semitism - our collective endeavour because it is our common history and our common future"

13.11.2014
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Article
EDA
Bern, 13.11.2014 - Berlin, 13.11.2014 - Opening address by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, at the Conference on Anti-Semitism of the OSCE - Check against deliviery
President Burkhalter calls on politicians and civil society to take a clear stand against anti-Semitism

13.11.2014
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Press releases
EDA
At the Conference on Anti-Semitism in Berlin, President of the Swiss Confederation Didier Burkhalter praised the action that the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has taken over the past ten years to combat anti-Semitism. Burkhalter, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, called for a strong ongoing commitment to fighting hostility against the world's Jews. He believes that young people, in particular, hold great potential in efforts to counter the dangers of anti-Semitism.
«Chaque génération peut apprendre des autres, pour mieux comprendre le monde» (de/fr)

11.11.2014
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Article
EDA
Bern, 11.11.2014 - Bern, 11.11.2014 - Speech by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, at the International Law Day of the Directorate of International Law 2014 - Check against deliviery
President Didier Burkhalter pays an official visit to Poland
27.01.2014
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Press releases
EDA
On 27 January President Didier Burkhalter will be received in Warsaw by the Polish President Bronisław Komorowski for an official presidential visit, the equivalent of a state visit in Switzerland. The three bilateral talks with President Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski will focus on bilateral relations, European policy, Switzerland's chairmanship of the OSCE, as well as a range of international and multilateral issues. On the morning of 28 January President Burkhalter will travel to Cracow where he will visit projects supported by Switzerland as part of its contribution towards EU enlargement. The afternoon will be set aside for a visit to the concentration camps of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau.