A travelling exhibition, ‘Anne Frank - a History for Today’ - will go on display at the Angel International School, Mathers Lane, Manipay Jaffna on Thursday March 7 at 5:30 p.m.
It forms part of a joint initiative of the Anne Frank House in the Netherlands and War Child Holland. The two organisations are working together to contribute to the peace-building process in Sri Lanka.
The exhibition tells the story of Anne Frank against the background of the Holocaust, with extracts from the diary of Anne Frank and photos of the Frank family forming a unifying theme.
The project also explores issues surrounding tolerance and social cohesion in Sri Lanka today. All exhibition materials have been translated into Sinhala and Tamil.
Young people will play a key role in the exhibition. Local youth will be trained in presentation skills to act as guides to the visitors. Their stories will also form a part of the exhibition. Local teachers will also be supported to use educational materials related to the story of Anne Frank.
The ‘local’ exhibition content has been designed by children and youth taking part in War Child’s projects in Sri Lanka. War Child works in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka to support young people to build their confidence and self-esteem. The exhibits detail War Child program activities - and serve to contribute to the construction of a historical memory of the country.
The project has been made possible with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Colombo and in partnership with War Child Holland.
The touring exhibition has been witnessed by more than 10 million people in 3500 cities worldwide. Students, teachers and the public can visit the exhibition in Jaffna until March 15 . The worldwide tour is coordinated by the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Joanne Doornewaard, the Netherlands Ambassador to Sri Lanka, will open the exhibition together with Nagalingam Vethanayagam, the Government Agent/District Secretary, Jaffna District.
The exhibition had previously been staged in Colombo, Jaffna and Baddegama and at Plantation schools in the Dickoya – Nuwara Eliya District, Deniyaya - Galle district and the Kotagala – Nuwara Eliya District.
A visitor to the exhibition in Jaffna Sri Lanka in December 2015 wrote: “Today I had a great opportunity to attend this exhibition and learn about Anne Frank’s history. It was a great experience. Today humanity is lost in this world but through this story we got many innovative ideas and tender feelings too. We must keep a diary for protecting our history also. “ ‘Anne Frank - a History for Today’ is truly a great way to build peace and bridges.