This September, the Experiencing Central Eastern Europe and Witnessing Auschwitz conference will feature presentations by Undergraduate students.
The conference provides an opportunity to learn about topics related to Central Eastern Europe and Auschwitz from regional professionals and from students who attended the Experiencing Central Eastern Europe Go Global seminar in summer 2026.
As part of this year’s programming, attendees can expect presentations by Ms. Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech, Head of Publishing at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Dr. Matea Magdić from the University of Rijeka.
Program
9:00 AM – Opening Program and Ceremony
- Rachel Zylberman Gore
- Dasha McEwen
- Ms. Aleksandra Kucy-Kropiwnicka, Consul General for the Republic of Poland in Vancouver
Part 1: Witnessing Auschwitz
10:00 AM – Keynote Speaker: Witnessing Auschwitz
- Verbal and Visual Testimonies: Practices of Working with Words and Pictures in the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum’s Publications”- Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech, Head of Publishing, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
11:00 AM – Student Panel: Witnessing Auschwitz
- Beyond the Visit: Experiencing Auschwitz as a Proxy Witness – Kaelyn Dunn
- Motherhood in Auschwitz: Control, Care and Survival – Avahni Dillon
- Muslim Experiences During the Holocaust: Victims, Survivors, and Collaborators – Sam Rezvani and Atef Ebrahimi
12:00 PM – Lunch
Part 2: Experiencing Central Eastern Europe
1:00 PM – Student Panel: Experiencing Central Eastern Europe I
- Commemoration and Memorialization in Central Eastern Europe – Emma Ivanoff
- Masters to and From the Periphery: Klimt in Rijeka – Natasha Mayzel
2:00 PM – Keynote Speaker: Experiencing Central Eastern Europe
- The Afterlife of National Myths: Miroslav Krleža and the Croatian Literary Canon – Matea Magdić, University of Rijeka:
3:00 PM – Student Panel: Experiencing Central Eastern Europe II
- Sugar, Paper, Steel – Erica Tan
- Croatian Tourism – Raul del Rosario
4:00 PM – Closing
- Rachel Zylberman Gore
How to attend
This is an in-person conference, and will be held in the Board and Senate Room (210) in UBC’s Old Administration Building on September 16 from 10 AM to 4 PM.
Questions may be directed to Dariya McEwen.
