The World Jewish Congress (WJC), with the support of UNESCO, will present a new website entitled "Facts about the Holocaust" in a ceremony on 19 November at noon at UNESCO’s Headquarters.
The website is designed as an interactive online tool to counter messages of Holocaust denial and distortion circulating on the internet and social media. It is a response to increased hate and disinformation online.
The website provides online support for communication campaigns on social media in English, Arabic and French. It assembles essential factual historical information about the Holocaust and its legacy, including documents and testimonies. Aboutholocaust.org is linked to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Online Holocaust Encyclopedia.
The website will be launched in the presence of the President of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, who will underline the importance of providing young people with skills and tools to engage against the denial and distortion of history, which fuel extremism and antisemitism.
Opening remarks will be followed by a multimedia presentation of the new website and its features. A panel discussion on “Holocaust denial and distortion in the digital age: How to engage with new generations?” moderated by Robert Singer, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of the World Jewish Congress, will conclude the event.
A joint initiative of UNESCO and the World Jewish Congress, the website supports UNESCO’s work in the field of education about the Holocaust and genocide and contributes to the Organization’s commitment to address anti-Semitism through education.
The website launch comes in the wake of the high-level event on preventing anti-Semitism through education, organized by UNESCO in the presence of the UN Secretary-General, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last September. It coincides with the meeting at UNESCO of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress.
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Journalists wishing to attend should request accreditation from
Djibril Kébé, UNESCO Media Section d.kebe@unesco.org +33(0)145681741