How happy I was to receive word that this picture I took of Dan and Jake (16 months old- January 9th 2009) was to be used in  part of a permanent video display in a museum in Mexico City, Mexico.

Memoria y Tolerancia (Memory and Tolerance) is a non-profit
organization with the mission to promote tolerance through
the historical remembrance of geocides (Holocaust, Armenia,
Guatemala, Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Darfur)
From its inception, Memoria y Tolerancia projected a museum
and educational center in Mexico City, keeping in mind that
the best tools for the creation of awareness are learning
and education.
I am working in a video called What is to be a jew? where
it is shown the diversity of jews.and I am interested in showing it in the museum.

For sure if ever down in Mexico City, we shall visit this museum.  I love this picture of Dan and Jake.  Dan being a first time daddy and the love and glow in this picture makes it a perfect moment to keep special.

Memoria y Tolerancia A.C.

Memoria y Tolerancia (Memory and Tolerance) was born in 1999 as a non-profit organization with the mission to promote tolerance through the historical remembrance of the Holocaust and other genocides. Memoria y Tolerancia believes that it is through the study of ethnic and racial genocides, the most horrific examples of intolerance, that we are better able to understand the inherent value of tolerance and justice.

From its inception, Memoria y Tolerancia projected a museum and educational center in Mexico City, keeping in mind that the best tools for the creation of awareness are learning and education. We began by giving lectures in various schools and universities; the response and interest of the young students encouraged us to build a museum, and gave us the will to share this knowledge with all Mexican society.

After many years of arduous work and relentless support from those who believed in this project, the museum will finally open its doors in one of the most important locations in Mexico City: Plaza Juárez, located in the historic downtown.

Why Mexico?

Mexico is a diverse country of approximately 100 million people. However, intolerance towards minorities is a rampant problem of our Mexican society. Social discrimination and exclusion are often associated and reinforced by socio-economic inequality.

Our museum creates a new opportunity to reflect upon the dangers of hatred, discrimination and indifference. Our museum communicates to a large audience the moral lessons derived from the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as the need for tolerance; that is, respect for human dignity and diversity. But our museum’s task does not end at creating conscience. It also encourages social action.

In 2000, Memoria y Tolerancia conducted a poll of 3,000 students in the National University (UNAM is the largest and a leading research and education public institution in Mexico). The poll shows alarming data regarding the students’ views on discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism. The poll also reveals a generalized lack of knowledge on the Holocaust. By opening our museum in Mexico, we have an unprecedented opportunity to position the study of the Holocaust among Mexican students.

Achievements

1. Museum’s location: The museum is under construction in one of the most significant places of Mexico City: Plaza Juárez, which is in the heart of Mexico City’s downtown. The museum shares this Plaza with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and a building of Tribunals. Thousands of people (including both Mexicans and tourists) travel daily through this important city corridor.

2. Student Agreements:

a) Agreement with the Ministry of Education (Secretaría de Educación Pública – SEP): We agreed with the Ministry of Education to integrate a visit to our museum in the Official Activity Guide (Guía Oficial de Actividades). This guide refers to the visits that every student should make throughout his education (from pre-K to junior high).

b) Agreement with the National University (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México): We agreed with the Dean of the National University to include the museum as an educational tool on tolerance (including yearly visits to the museum).

3. Inter institutional agreements: We have sign agreements with different institutions such as:  UNHCR (The UN refugee agency), OUNHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), CONAPRED (Mexican agency to prevent discrimination), USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), KGMC (Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre), CDHDF (Federal District Human Rights Commission), UNAM (National University), among others.

5. Unique concept: We are in the process of creating a unique museum that brings together three themes: Holocaust, other genocides and tolerance (human rights, diversity, media, NGO´s, etc.). These three sections are conceptually linked.

The museum is also unique in that its objective is not only to inform the public but to bridge the gap between social conscience and social action. We plan to achieve this by creating a space at the end of the museum’s journey in which different non-profit organizations will have booths where visitors can get information and volunteer to work for the projects of their interest.

Mission

Our mission is to preserve, teach and promote in Mexican society, the history and meaning of the Holocaust and other ethnic genocides, as well as the importance of diversity and tolerance. We also warn the visitor of the dangers of hatred, anti-Semitism, discrimination, and indifference, in order to create awareness, responsibility and respect in every individual.

Objectives

• To make the visitor aware of the consequences of hatred, discrimination and intolerance.

• To promote the values of tolerance and respect.

• To stop oblivion from granting impunity to the atrocities committed by people.

• To remember the victims as a way of serving justice.

• To educate and create a conscious commitment towards the needs of the most vulnerable.

• To challenge the visitor in order to create introspection and a change in attitude.

• To promote reflection that will lead to social action.

• The museum seeks to give a new interpretation to the meaning of the word “tolerance” and its connotations.

Architectural project

The Memoria y Tolerancia Museum is an avant-garde building that profoundly respects its surroundings. Some of the premises on which this project was developed were: the achievement of a world-class structure, a design for individuals, a commitment to the environment, the development of technical and intelligent solutions, and the optimizing of resources.

The site has a total area of 17,000 square feet (1530 m2), with a height of 100 feet (30m) and 77,000 square feet (7196m2) of construction. The Museum will be developed in seven levels:

• Level 5 Introduction, Holocaust

• Level 4 Holocaust and other Genocides

• Level 3 Tolerance, Terrace

• Level 2 Educational Center, Library and Temporary Exhibits

• Level 1 Cafeteria, Administrative Area

• Ground Floor Main Lobby and Auditorium

• Underground Area for Children under 12 years old and Tolerance Work shops

JOURNEY THROUGH THE MUSEUM

An area of preparation will create a feeling of respect that will accompany the visitor throughout the journey. The importance and nature of the museum, and the visitor’s relationship with it will also be explored

The museum is divided into two important sections:

· Memory

· Tolerance

Memory

Half of the Museum’s vast area is focused on remembrance. One of the best tools to illustrate the value of tolerance is through the greatest examples of intolerance that humankind has witnessed: ethnic, racial and religious genocides.

By looking at history from a human point of view, we appreciate the unnecessary suffering and hatred that these atrocities have created. The most important goal is to transmit the belief that the world will begin to change the day we feel the other’s pain as our own.

This area is composed of an introduction and two main topics:

· Holocaust

· Other genocides

Holocaust

In order to illustrate the importance of tolerance to the visitors and to invite them to assume their responsibility in the constructive transformation of the world, we will present the Holocaust.

This genocide represents the destructive capability of individuals. In the Holocaust there was a combination of mass murder of innocents as an end and not as a means, and an extermination system that included dehumanization as one of its basic purposes.

One of the main goals of this area is to show the universal character of this terrible event, as a responsibility of humanity.

Other genocides

We witness innumerable events that prove that we have not learned the lesson. Words such as “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing” have become a part of our everyday language; the efforts to prevent these atrocities have not been enough.

We must learn from the past in order to build a road towards hope. These topics show that indifference can become an accomplice of the atrocities, since those who forget the past are bound to repeat it. Two different rooms will show the history and development of these genocides:

• Rwanda

•Former Yugoslavia (Srebrenica)

These other crimes and genocides will be shown in this area:

• Armenia

• Cambodia

• Guatemala

• Darfur

Tolerance

While intolerance has created dark consequences for humanity, tolerance has paved the way for freedom, justice and peace.

By linking memory to our life and teaching the counterpart of darkness, the tolerance area will introduce light and hope into the Museum’s journey.

Humanity exists because tolerance and non-violence have predominated. Nevertheless, even if humanity in its majority has tried to respect differences, we cannot blind ourselves to the acts of injustice, violence and social exclusion that today- as in the past- we still witness as a result of intolerance and indifference.

This section has a tour of 22 rooms deeply developed by experts in each topic and designed in a didactic way in order that the student learn and reflect about each of the topics.

Far from giving simplistic and dogmatic answers to the complex question of tolerance, this area will discuss concrete events motivated by tolerance and intolerance on global, national, social, and personal levels.

The tolerance area will build its narrative through questions. It will challenge norms and values that rule human interaction –both public and private- with the purpose of encouraging us to reflect upon the importance of searching for points of dialogue, agreement and respect among the diverse.

Additional Areas

Educational Center

This area will provide visitors with further information on topics related to the museum and will keep them updated through courses, seminars, lectures, and debates.

Temporary Exhibits

This space will be dynamic and adaptable; a space for national and international artists to exhibit their work.

Area for Children Under 12 Years Old

It is never too early to begin an education in tolerance: the task of promoting a more tolerant society must begin with the youngest ones. In this pedagogical area the subject matter of the museum will be transmitted through educational tools adapted to the visitor’s academic level.

Computer Lab and Library

A high-tech interactive room containing a specialized collection of the museum’s topics. This area will allow the visitor to complete his/her work by providing access to databases and/or the archives of similar centers around the world.

Auditorium

A space dedicated to culture, offering movies, theater, lectures, and music.

Reflection Area

This is an imposing space that will be recognized as the museum’s icon; it is a place for silence, where our visitors will be able to internalize the museum’s messages.

Someday, it would be nice to go here and see their entire exhibit, after all, Jake is Jewish and it is important for him to know what went on and understand.

smiles  : )

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