News
Summary of the international competition “My memory, my responsibility. In my place.”
The first edition of the international competition “My memory, my responsibility. In my place”, organised by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Institute, has come to an end. The jury selected the winners from among several dozen works submitted from 11 countries.
The competition aimed to draw attention to the relevance of combining the memory of victims with activities aimed at consciously counteracting contemporary threats and promoting democratic attitudes, especially in local communities. Therefore, the vast majority of the concepts presented related to projects involving sensitisation of the local community - residents of urban agglomerations, school or university communities.
‘In the current pandemic situation, in which we all pretty much work exclusively in front of our screens and seem to be fed up with the situation, I am not at all surprised that we received somewhat fewer works than we had anticipated. I was particularly surprised by the overall high quality of many of the entries. They often demonstrate an in-depth thought on how memory can be conveyed to post-war people and today’s generations,’ said Museum Director Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński.
‘I was also pleased that many of the authors referred to their experiences while visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau site or their volunteer experience at such a difficult Memorial. It further cemented my conviction that nothing empowers self-reflection as much as the profound experience of one’s encounter with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial,’ he emphasised.
Competition Winners:
I place: Katarzyna Łaziuk, Poland
II place: Arune Vaiciunaite-Levuskiniene, Lithuania
III place: Jane Pashman, United States.
The jury also decided to award three equivalent commendations to Chiara Antico from Portugal, Agnieszka Bukowiecka from Austria, and Paul Salver from the United Kingdom.
COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE JURY
“During the in-depth analysis of the submitted works, the jury paid particular attention to the concept, coherence, and multi-faceted nature of the projects. Also of great significance was the use of various methods and planning for the active participation of numerous social groups in the various stages of the projects so that the initiative is not just about passive audience participation. The jury’s decisions were significantly influenced by factors such as the use of source materials, innovation, inducing critical thinking, the reach of the projects, and their potential use as inspirations by people from other countries or cultural areas.
The jury members decided this time around to award distinctions to works that exceeded the statutory limit of characters in the description due to the uniqueness of the concepts presented - in the feeling that the regulations have not yet been firmly established. The jury highly evaluates the substantive level of the submitted competition entries and the commitment of the project authors to the process of shaping responsible social attitudes. We thank all the participants and congratulate the winners! We invite you to participate in the next edition of the competition”.
Competition Jury:
- Marta Berecka, Diplomacy of Remembrance Auschwitz Museum,
- Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum,
- Prof. Barbara Engelking, head of the Holocaust Research Centre at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
- Alicja Wancerz-Gluza, head of educational and innovative programmes at the KARTA Centre Foundation,
- Mikołaj Grynberg, artist photographer, writer, reporter,
- Andrzej Kacorzyk, director of the International Centre for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust,
- Maria Ossolińska, the head of Diplomacy of Remembrance and president of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Institute.
Files to download
