Europe for Citizens

“EVERY BUTTON COUNTS”

6 million+ Charitable Trust is awarded a grant from the EU Europe for Citizens Fund

6 million+ Charitable Trust, based in Huddersfield, have been awarded an EU Europe for Citizens Fund grant (Remembrance Strand) of 95 000 euros to work with partners in Lublin in Poland, Sobotica in Serbia and Reggio Emilia in Italy.

The four countries will work together to remember the persecution of Jews across Europe during and following the Holocaust, and compare that experience to the present day refugee crisis and Europe’s response to it. Every Button Counts

The ultimate aim is to share past and present stories from individuals in each country and share experiences with a wider audience using theatre, writing, music, art and film.

The project will culminate in a joint Holocaust Memorial Day event at Huddersfield University in January 2018 and the publication of an online resource “Every Person Counts” which will help groups across Europe to work towards prevention of genocide.

The first encounters between partners will take place in March 2017. UK participants will take a small bag of buttons from the 6 million+ installation as a starting point for initiating discussion and creative activity with partners. Each person represents an individual who perished in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.

Brian Cross, Chair of the Trust said “6 million+ are delighted to receive this grant to continue raising awareness of the Holocaust and other genocides, exploring the connections between past events and the experience of persecuted minorities in the world today and promoting creative arts activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds.”

Meanwhile, the Trust continues to face the challenge of raising over a million pounds to realise the memorial sculpture made up of over 6 million buttons.