Novus learners engage with Holocaust Memorial Day

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is the international day on 27 January to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and during more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

Yesterday’s Holocaust Memorial Day marked 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and 30 years since the genocide in Bosnia.

Linking historical understanding of events to prison education provision

As part of the Novus education provision, we have been working with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and this year's project has culminated in Novus learners contributing to the 80th Anniversary event and a digital publication.

As part of the main project, 20 Novus prison sites were engaged, allowing 270 learners to take part, along with four other prisons that joined in with the 80-years, 80-candles project.

Novus learners’ artwork was entered into a competition that ran across all HMPPS sites, which was judged by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Five prison sites were selected to display their artwork, including four Novus sites: HMPs Durham, Deerbolt, Wormwood Scrubs, and Preston. Congratulations to the winning sites, and thank you to everyone else who took part.

The winning prison artwork was then displayed at yesterday’s event at the Guildhall in London, which was attended by The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet, faith and civic leaders, along with survivors from the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. The event itself aired on the BBC. 

How does taking part in a project like this one support learning?

Projects such as this one help to develop our learners’ cultural capital. They enable learners to consider historical events and how these events have shaped modern society. It also allows them to discuss differences between people, and cultures and understand the need for tolerance and acceptance, something that they might never have considered previously.

This specific project had three clear objectives:

1. Enhancing Awareness and Understanding:

• Promoting awareness and understanding of the Holocaust among learners and staff.
• Fostering a commitment to remembering and learning from this historical event.

2. Encouraging Creative Expression:

• Providing platforms for learners to express their reflections on the Holocaust through various media.
• Recognising and celebrating learners' contributions at a significant national event.

3. Strengthening Community Engagement:

• Supporting community cohesion by sharing learners' work in a public space.

In the feedback from the session, learners were able to consider what they had learned and were very thoughtful about how they would approach other people going forward:

“I learned that a lot of people had horrendous pain and suffering. They were strong and courageous in the face of evil”.

“I’ll always put things into perspective and think that there are always people worse off than me and I’ll always try to be kind to everybody”.

In addition to taking part in this project, last year, learners at HMP Holme House were visited by Smajo Beso to share details of what it was like to leave Bosnia during the conflict 30 years ago (Smajo features in the BBC coverage linked above), again this gave our learners a lot of opportunity to understand someone else’s perspective and ask questions to develop their understanding.

The role of creative enrichment within prison education

This project forms part of our creative enrichment programme, which brings prison education to life across all areas of the curriculum. If you would like to read more about our Creative Enrichment Strategy or get in touch with regard to a project that you think would be beneficial for our prison learners, please visit our create enrichment section.