Holocaust Memorial Day 2018

More than 7,700 events and activities were held to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) – in schools, cinemas, universities, workplaces and many more diverse locations.

Here in Darlington, we have been inspired by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the charity that promotes HMD in the UK, to explore different ways in which to mark this hugely important day.

The annual HMD memorial event in Central Hall, while powerful and moving, reaches only a small audience and has been largely unchanged for a number of years.

The next Holocaust Memorial Day will be held on 27 January 2018. A range of events and activities to mark Holocaust Memorial Day are being developed, including:

• An exhibition in Central Library, with a Book of Reflection for people to contribute to
• A poetry event in the library hosted by Vane Women
• A feature in the January 2018 edition of One Darlington magazine
• Film screening at The Forum by Darlington Film Club
• A public event with dance, prayers and the Statement of Commitment.

For the public event, we want it to reach a much wider audience than the events at Central Hall had attracted in recent years. We are pleased to be working with the Cornmill Centre to achieve that.

We hope this broader range of events and the venue change for the ceremony will send out a strong and clear message that everyone is welcome, regardless of age, faith, or background, to get involved in a way that suits them, to reflect on the lessons of the past and help create a safer, better future.

We are sympathetic to those who have expressed the view that they would prefer to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in the same way as in previous years. With that in mind, we will offer a venue, should the Celebrating Communities group wish to organise an event of their own.