Cumberland Council is urging local communities to join them and local schools in commemorating Srebrenica National Memorial Day (11 July).
Every year, Remembering Srebrenica selects a theme that reflects an aspect of the genocide that must be commemorated, but also speaks to communities here in the UK.
The theme for 2025 is ‘Remember Yesterday, Act Today’.
At the heart of this is a clear message about the importance of reflective remembrance alongside proactive action to safeguard against intolerance and hatred.
To commemorate Srebrenica Memorial Day 2025, some of Cumberland Council’s buildings will be lit green. A pop-up display charting the history and purpose of Srebrenica National Memorial Day will also be on display in Whitehaven Library between Tuesday 1 and Friday 11 July.
A series of school assemblies have been organised within the Cumberland area and are being led by Dr Tony Foody from Keswick School. They will be held on the build-up to the international event which this year commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.
At every school Dr Foody visits, he will give them each a Srebrenica flower. These are hand-crafted by The Mothers of Srebrenica, who are survivors of the genocide. The 11 petals on the flower represent the 11 July, the date the genocide took place. The white represents the innocence of the victims and green, hope for the future.
There will also be a guest speaker, Gordon Bacon OBE, from the Bosnian Genocide Education Trust, visiting Keswick School to speak about his experiences.
Cllr Elaine Lynch, Cumberland Council Executive Member for Lifelong Learning and Development, said:
“It's very important that we learn from the past to create a better future. Srebrenica Memorial Day is a time for us all to remember the millions of people killed under regimes of hatred or who have suffered atrocities.
“It is also a time to recognise that there are still people today who are persecuted because of their sex, race, gender and religious beliefs.”
Remembering Srebrenica is committed to educating young people about the Srebrenica genocide and the valuable lessons that we must learn for our own communities.
They have developed a range of free resources which are available for free download, explore the links below to find the resources that would best suit your needs. These are available at https://srebrenica.org.uk/learn