Dagestani student participates in Council of Europe's seminar "Memory and Lessons of World War II" in Strasbourg

Strasbourg, France, May 29, 2015. Chairman of the Information Policy Committee of Dagestan National Assembly’s Youth Parliament, a 3rd year student of the North Caucasian branch of the Russian Justice Ministry’s Legal Academy Leila Bagamaeva participated in the seminar "Memory and Lessons of World War II" at the Palace of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The event was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The main topic of discussion was education in preservation of historical memory and youth initiatives in Europe.

Leila Bagamaeva said the seminar provided an opportunity for international youth to exchange experiences and practices for preserving historical memory. Panel discussions helped see the young foreigners’ stance on the topics of the seminar.

She added that events as such are very important and significant for young people, "We visited the memorial sites in Strasbourg and the surrounding areas, met with the participants and witnesses of the Second World War, saw the Struthof concentration camp, and it all stuck in our memories."

Initiated by  Russia, the seminar was attended by over 50 young citizens of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia. Participating were young researchers, historians and representatives of national non-governmental organizations, museums, memorials, members of the search teams, and community activists.

At the seminar, participants learned how the work of the Council of Europe is organized. With the representatives and experts from the Council of Europe, they held a broad discussion about how they see the role of European social and political institutions in educating young people. They also determined some common approaches to preventing growth of Nazism, fascism and racism in Europe.