The Union of Jewish Students and the NUS are launching a joint campaign in Sheffield

Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich will speak this Tuesday

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A campaign led by the Union of Jewish Students, the NUS and Holocaust Educational Trust launches on Tuesday (24 October) in Sheffield.

Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich will address delegates at the second day of NUS Zones Conference in Sheffield to launch the nationwide campaign, called Our Living Memory.

The campaign will remember the Holocaust and the persecution of other groups by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945, and encourage commemoration of the Holocaust in Students' Unions, partnerships between faith societies and minority groups.

The campaign will run through videos on social media and events taking place across Students' Unions around Holocaust Memorial Day 2018.

Previous commemoration and educational activities by the UJS have reached over 3,500 students, staff and local community members, with the new partnership meaning that Our Living Memory will reach even more people.

UJS Campaigns Officer Sam Gold said: "We’re proud to be partnering with NUS and HET on Our Living Memory, moving forward with an improved UJS-NUS relationship and ensuring that although eyewitnesses to the Holocaust are sadly passing away, students of all faiths, backgrounds, cultures and beliefs will commit to keeping the memory of the victims alive."

The campaign also intends to show the ongoing importance of Jewish students working with other minority groups to tackle a concerning rise in anti-Semitic incidents and racism, both on campus and in wider society.

The UJS has over 8,000 members at unis across the country

The partnership marks a real improvement in relations between the UJS and the NUS.

Last year, some delegates at the NUS Conference spoke against commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day, while concerns about anti-Semitic attitudes at the very top of the NUS led to calls for the working relationship to be suspended.

Izzy Lenga, Welfare Vice President at the NUS, added: "I am so pleased that NUS is teaming up with the Union of Jewish Students and the Holocaust Educational Trust. It is vitally important that we help different communities learn and engage with lessons from the past to recognise the loss of so many lives."

A further statement from the Holocaust Educational Trust reads: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with UJS and NUS on this important initiative, which we hope will inspire students on campuses around the country to commemorate victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution in a meaningful and effective way. As the Holocaust moves from living history to ‘just’ history, it is more important than ever that young people take on an active role in ensuring that the Holocaust is remembered."

Featured image credit – @UJS_UK on Twitter