Riitta Resch
Head of Finnish Delegation to the IHRA
Member country since: 2010
Remembrance Days: 27 January (International Holocaust Remembrance Day)
Kristina Kaihari (Finnish National Board of Education) – Deputy Head of Delegation and Education Working Group
Malte Gasche (University of Helsinki) – Academic Working Group
Henry Hedman (Goverment’s Advisory Board on Romani Affairs) – Education Working Group
Simo Muir (University of Helsinki) – Museums and Memorials Working Group
Ilona Salomaa-Uusitalo (University of Helsinki) – Museums and Memorials Working Group
Oula Silvennoinen (University of Helsinki) – Academic Working Group
Members of the national IHRA group:
Jorma Kauppinen (Finnish National Board of Education)
Rauno Merisaari (Ministry for Foreign Affairs)
Rony Smolar (Jewish Community of Helsinki)
Daniel Weintraub (City of Helsinki Education Department)
In Finland, information on the Holocaust is covered by several school subjects. In 2010, the Finnish National Board of Education amended specific chapters concerning the Holocaust in the national core curriculum of history and philosophy/ethics in both primary and secondary education. Finnish history, religion and ethics teachers attended dedicated training sessions on the Holocaust at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem in 2010 and 2012, and many upper secondary schools in Finland provide special courses on the Holocaust, which include study visits to the Auschwitz Birkenau State Museum. The IHRA national chapter, which includes additional experts and governmental representatives, meets regularly between plenaries to discuss IHRA-related matters.