The Holocaust as a starting point – Italy – Croatia – Slovenia dialogue
From February 16^th  to 18^th , 2026
Trieste Italy

What is the “Holocaust as a starting point”?

The Holocaust as a Starting Point is an international program developed by the Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris, France) and its partners since 2015. It consists in regional and transnational teacher trainings, striving to develop cooperation on a regional basis. Each year, about 500 teachers have the opportunity to develop their knowledge on Holocaust education and their pedagogical skills to confront the rise of antisemitism and discrimination.

This program is the result of an observation that applies to all European countries: many of the rifts that divide Europe today are directly linked to the Second World War, and in particular to the Holocaust. By taking the Holocaust as the starting point of our trainings, we are able to address sensitive contemporary issues (shared negative histories, divergent and/or conflicting memories) and to provide scientific evident to counter political narratives.

Supported by a European network of some 30 partners (Ministries, cultural institutions, teachers’ associations, etc.), the Holocaust as a Starting Point will develop more than a dozen trainings over the course of 2026.

A closer look at the training in Trieste 16^th to 18^th of February

From September 16^th to 18^th, this 9^th edition of the training “the Holocaust as a Starting Point” between Croatia, Italy, Slovenia was held at the university of Trieste. Co-organized by the Education and Teacher Training Agency (ETTA, Croatia), the Istituto Nazionale Ferruccio Parri and the Department of Humanities of the Università degli Studi di Trieste (Italy), Zavod RS za šolstvo (Slovenia), and the Mémorial de la Shoah (France), this training gathered 40 educators from all three countries.

This training was dedicated to teachers with a beginner knowledge on Holocaust education. The lecturers focused on giving the trainees key elements to better understand the Holocaust and its development in Europe. On the first day, teachers received training on issues on the Adriatic region concerning anti-Semitism and anti-Slavism.

On the second day of the training, the group focused on how to teach the Holocaust and issues related to the borders between the former Yugoslavia and Italy. The group then visited in the afternoon the Risiera San Sabba. The major place of remembrance of the area with an explanation of professional of the university of Trieste. On the third day the seminar ended with workshops about international law and methods of teaching.

The development of this training course was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Claim’s Conference.