Holocaust as a Starting Point
20th – 21st October 2026, Riddell Hall, Belfast
Holocaust as a Starting Point is a two-day professional learning programme delivered in partnership with the Mémorial de la Shoah, Europe’s leading centre for Holocaust remembrance, research, archives and education.
This advanced programme will provide teachers with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Holocaust education and explore how it can be used as a lens for teaching about:
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Human rights
- Conflict and its consequences
- Memory and remembrance
- Reconciliation and peacebuilding
About the Programme
Over two days, participants will engage with international experts and explore:
- Contemporary approaches to Holocaust education
- The challenges and opportunities of teaching the Holocaust in Northern Ireland
- Connections between Holocaust education and the history and legacy of the Troubles
- Practical classroom strategies using photographs, oral histories and survivor testimony
- Approaches to teaching sensitive and controversial issues
In addition to the Memorial de la Shoah, who have worked across Europe to engage students in new methodologies to engage with the Holocaust, this training includes sessions from:
Professor Chris Reynolds, an historian and an expert in utilising an oral history approach to bring new perspectives into the classroom. He has worked extensively with schools and community groups across Northern Ireland and the Ulster Museum to create the Voices of ’68 and Voices of ’74 oral archives and has recently published an Oral History toolkit.
Dr Gordon Gillespie, author, lecturer in the School of Economics and Politics at Ulster University and former visiting research fellow at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast. He has written on a range of topics associated with the Northern Ireland conflict including loyalist politics, aspects of popular culture associated with the Troubles, political imagery and symbols and electoral systems in Northern Ireland.
- See detailed programme outlining all sessions and activities across the two day
- Substitute cover will be provided for participating teachers for both days.
Registration
Places are limited and early registration is strongly encouraged.
If you would like to attend, please complete the registration form using the link below:
Stage 2: Holocaust as a Starting Point – Fill in form
Based in Paris, the Mémorial de la Shoah is France’s national Holocaust Museum and memorial institution. Internationally recognised for its work in Holocaust remembrance, teacher education, historical research and the preservation of survivor testimony, it plays a leading role in supporting educators across Europe and beyond.