That effort continues this year in a special way as Hungary has the honour of taking up the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), following the unanimous support recently of its 31 member countries. Based on the Stockholm Declaration, the organization’s principal goal is to promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance.

The Holocaust is one of the most painful episodes in Hungary’s history, and a tragedy for the nation, said Hungarian IHRA Chairman Szabolcs Takács, at a press conference held last week in the renovated Pásti Street Orthodox Synogogue in Debrecen. “No one in Hungary should live in fear because they are members of a religious community,” said Takács, who is also minister of state for EU Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office.

We believe the support that Hungary received from our international partners is in part a recognition of our efforts to counter anti-Semitic attitudes and protect the interests of the Jewish community. Hungary participated in the establishment of IHRA in 2000 and served as chair once before, in 2006.

The chairmanship will coincide with some important dates: the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Raoul Wallenberg, the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp and the end of World War II. This year is also the 15th anniversary of IHRA.

It’s a great opportunity for Hungary to demonstrate again its commitment to the principles of the Stockholm Declaration and to the cause of Holocaust remembrance. In a similar spirit, it follows Hungary’s organizing of a commemorative Wallenberg Year in 2012 and a Holocaust Memorial Year in 2014.

Our program for the IHRA year, which began in March and was developed in consultation with Hungary’s Jewish communities, emphasizes Holocaust education, the Roma genocide and the fight against anti-Semitism through a number of events, among others, a plenary session in Budapest, scheduled for June 8 to 15, and another one in Debrecen, scheduled for November 2 to 5, as well as senior-level, international conferences.

We also hold in special regard the preservation of our Jewish cultural heritage, so we have also given some priority to promoting the refurbishment of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, with the possible involvement of students. As of 2015, a total of fifteen synagogues throughout Hungary will be renovated.

The Orbán Government has declared a policy of zero-tolerance for anti-Semitism and opposes extremism with some of the toughest legislative measures around. But education, an important pillar of IHRA, plays a key role in raising future generations’ awareness and their opposition to racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. In 2001, schools began special observance of the Holocaust Memorial Day, and the House of Fates education centre, currently under construction, also targets the younger generations.

Jewish life is enjoying a renaissance in Hungary with numerous educational and cultural institutions, renovated synagogues and even festivals and kosher restaurants. Hungary also hosts thousands of Israeli students at Hungarian universities and expects large numbers of Jewish pilgrims from the United States and Israel to visit again this year.

We are confident that we are on the right path and will be able to further reduce xenophobic voices. Our work over the last several years, and now as the chair of IHRA, to facilitate teaching, remembrance and research to promote awareness among future generations is a continuation of that effort.