5-6.10.2025

Commemorating Jewish cemeteries

Strategies, Good Practices, Future Directions

Montjuïc & Casa Adret
CLICK HERE for program in Spanish and Catalan
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events Programme

The International Seminar “Commemorating Jewish Cemeteries: Strategies, Good Practices, and Future Directions” took place on 5–6 October 2025 in Barcelona, bringing together heritage professionals, representatives of public authorities, civil society organizations, researchers, artists, and members of Jewish communities from several European countries.

Organized by the Engaged Memory Consortium partners from Poland and Spain, in cooperation with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Barcelona and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, the event created a platform for international exchange on the protection, documentation, and commemoration of Jewish cemeteries.

The seminar combined site based activities and artistic interventions at the medieval Jewish cemetery on Montjuïc with an international conference held at Casa Adret. Through case studies, expert presentations, panel discussions, and roundtable conversations, participants explored public policy strategies, local practices, and collaborative approaches to safeguarding Jewish cemetery heritage in different cultural and legal contexts.

📸 Emanuel Kertesz Maor

[Catalan] https://www.ejbarcelona.org/ca/internationalcommemoratingconference
[Spanish] https://www.ejbarcelona.org/es/internationalcommemoratingconference

  • Day 1

    5.10.2025

    • Local heritage: case study Montjuic.

      https://maps.app.goo.gl/fcrzDJRBMw4znokB9
      • Visit to Montjuic & Artistic interventions — within "Viu Montjuïc" Cultural weekend programming
    • 11.30

      Welcome & introduction

      https://maps.app.goo.gl/fcrzDJRBMw4znokB9
    • 12.00

      Guided Visit: Jewish Medieval Cemetery of Montjuïc

    • 14.00

      Lunch at Salts Montjuïc

    • 16.00

      LABA Barcelona: Artistic Commemoration & Performance Route

  • Day 2

    6.10.2025

    • International Conference

      Casa Adret
    • 10.00

      Welcome and introductions from the organizers and partners

    • 10.30

      Session 1: Strategies of maintaining and commemorating Jewish cemeteries in Poland

      • Witold Wrzosiński
      • Agnieszka Nieradko
      • Agnieszka Jabłońska
      • Lena Rubenfeld
    • 12.00

      Panel discussion with representatives of public authorities and institutions from Poland

      • Agnieszka Kawa
      • Urszula Boubley
      • Liliana Kalinowska
      • Eliza Dydyńska-Czesak
      • Aleksandra Janus (Moderator)
    • 13.30

      Lunch with live music at Casa Adret

    • 16.00

      Session 2: Commemoration Strategies for the Montjuïc Jewish Cemetery — Present Challenges & Local Strategies

      • Dr. Zeev Maor
      • Kevin Buckland
      • Dr. Jaimie Luria
    • 17.30

      Session 3: Roundtable – Collaborative Horizons & Exchange of Best Practices

Event description WP 57

Organization

Partners

Sponsors

Local heritage: case study Montjuic.
5.10.2025
https://maps.app.goo.gl/fcrzDJRBMw4znokB9
  • Visit to Montjuic & Artistic interventions — within "Viu Montjuïc" Cultural weekend programming
Welcome & introduction
5.10.2025 11.30
https://maps.app.goo.gl/fcrzDJRBMw4znokB9

Introduction of Polish and Spanish partners, scenic overview, and orientation to Montjuïc’s historical and cultural layers

Guided Visit: Jewish Medieval Cemetery of Montjuïc
5.10.2025 12.00

Tour by Arch. Dominique Tomasov Blinder tackling the topics of Jewish funerary traditions, archaeological findings, the Yad Miriam initiative, cemetery boundaries, and historical documentation

Lunch at Salts Montjuïc
5.10.2025 14.00
LABA Barcelona: Artistic Commemoration & Performance Route
5.10.2025 16.00

A guided circuit featuring artworks and short performances inspired by the cemetery’s history, created by artists of LABA Barcelona

International Conference
6.10.2025
Casa Adret
Welcome and introductions from the organizers and partners
6.10.2025 10.00
Session 1: Strategies of maintaining and commemorating Jewish cemeteries in Poland
  • Witold Wrzosiński

    Understanding the big picture: how to protect, preserve and safeguard 1200 Jewish cemeteries in Poland?

  • Agnieszka Nieradko

    Protecting Jewish cemeteries: guidelines, protocols and lessons learned

  • Agnieszka Jabłońska

    Making the invisible visible: Case Study of the Jewish Cemetery in Wrocław

  • Lena Rubenfeld

    Bringing back the memory of the Jewish cemetery in Gdańsk

6.10.2025 10.30
Panel discussion with representatives of public authorities and institutions from Poland
  • Agnieszka Kawa

    Vice-Mayor of the City of Tarnów

  • Urszula Boubley

    Advisor to the Mayor and Spokesperson of the City of Białystok

  • Liliana Kalinowska

    Przemyśl City Councillor

  • Eliza Dydyńska-Czesak

    Kraków City Councillor, Co-Chair of the Culture and Heritage Comission

  • Aleksandra Janus (Moderator)

    President of the Zapomniane Foudnation

6.10.2025 12.00
Lunch with live music at Casa Adret
6.10.2025 13.30

Contemporary Sephardic cuisine, informal discussion space.

Session 2: Commemoration Strategies for the Montjuïc Jewish Cemetery — Present Challenges & Local Strategies
  • Dr. Zeev Maor

    Director of the Institut d’Estudis Jueus, Barcelona

  • Kevin Buckland

    Artivist, co-founder of Yad Miriam, and LABA alumni

  • Dr. Jaimie Luria

    Project Montjuïc Manager EJB

6.10.2025 16.00

Present Challenges & Local Strategies in Montjuic

Session 3: Roundtable – Collaborative Horizons & Exchange of Best Practices
6.10.2025 17.30

Memory policies and public commemoration strategies, International cooperation frameworks, Site nomination strategies (local, national, UNESCO-level), Educational outreach and community engagement, Site activation through artistic, academic, and civic initiatives, Possibilities for knowledge exchange and transnational collaboration between cultural and governmental institutions in Poland, Spain, and wider Europe