International Charter launched

Gilly Carr is travelling to Brussels to brief the Working Group on the implementation of the EU strategy on combatting antisemitism and fostering Jewish life on the new Charter and to be present for the launch.

She is an Associate Professor in Archaeology, specialising in conflict archaeology and Holocaust heritage. She is a Director of Studies in Archaeology at St Catharine’s College and Academic Director in Archaeology at the University’s Institute of Continuing Education.

She works at the intersection of the fields of conflict archaeology, Holocaust studies, heritage studies and history.

"One of my major research interests is internment and imprisonment of all kinds, especially during the Second World War, in terms of its materiality and heritage. My interest in Holocaust heritage grew out of that because of my status as a government-appointed UK delegate to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. I am also on the advisory board for the new Holocaust centre in Westminster, and am currently coordinating Lord Eric Pickles’ Alderney Expert Review into the number of prisoners and deaths in Alderney during the Nazi occupation."

Dr Gilly Carr

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Charter for Safeguarding Sites | Image: DarPro

The other members of the team include deputy chair, Dr Steve Cooke (Deakin University, Australia), and other experts who direct or work for Holocaust museums, memorials, charities and institutions throughout IHRA’s 35 member countries.

Dr Carr is a government-appointed UK delegate to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Since 2019 she has chaired the project ‘Safeguarding Sites’, which has produced an international heritage charter to safeguard Holocaust sites and sites of the genocide of the Roma. The charter was adopted by IHRA at the plenary meeting in Zagreb in November 2023; it will be launched in January 2024 at a Holocaust remembrance conference co-organised by the IHRA, the European Commission and the Belgian Presidency of the EU.

The team comprises 14 international experts from IHRA and a series of external advisory experts from heritage organisations such as UNESCO and ICOMOS.

"We have built the charter through comparison with other charters, site visits, dialogue with site managers and the advice of other experts. We have identified 16 different threats which affect Holocaust heritage in the 21^st century and have developed good practice, principles, and responsibilities for safeguarding Holocaust sites. The Charter is aimed at practitioners, politicians and the public and IHRA is currently translating the Charter into multiple languages and will begin dissemination after the launch in Brussels."

Dr Gilly Carr

IHRA has a record of working with Holocaust heritage sites, using diplomacy to help sites at risk. Gilly Carr's previous work has been in dark heritage and conflict archaeology and heritage.

The University of Cambridge has contributed through paying for an interactive data visualisation and a Creative Encounters animation video. Creative Encounters is run by the University of Cambridge Public Engagement team and is an opportunity for researchers to collaborate with creatives to produce various outputs.

In the video below, creative Neda Ahmadi worked with Gilly Carr to produce the animation Highlighting Holocaust heritage.

Highlighting Holocaust Heritage | Creative Encounters Project

Researcher: Dr Gilly Carr

Creative: Neda Ahmadi

Sound design and Music: David Felix Esser

The Creative projects were made possible by UKRI Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF), Wellcome Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF) and Economic and Social Research Council Fund (ESRC)

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)

Cambridge Creative Encounters is a University of Cambridge Public Engagement project run by University of Cambridge Public Engagement team

For specific information about the IHRA, Charter and Safeguarding Sites please follow the relevant links to their websites.

Information about the Creative Encounters Project is available on the Public Engagement website.

Dr Gilly Carr

Published 23 January 2024

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