This year's Forum was attended by 52 employees from sixteen institutions and organisations from Poland and abroad, who presented 34 topics. The session began with the reading of a letter from Minister Jarosław Sellin, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage by Magdalena Erdman, Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Meta Sovicheth (Cambodia), Marin Yann (Cambodia, USA), Paul Rukesho (Rwanda), and Amra Begic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) were the guests of a special session led by Paweł Sawicki of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, who participated in all the seminars. They talked about their personal experiences and commemoration practices in their countries. The presentations were grouped into six sessions: Education at the museum, New areas of scientific research, Museum - Institution - Problems, Challenges for conservators, archaeologists, as well as custodians of collections, Museum book shops and exhibitions.
Over two intensive days, the discussions and backstage discussions focused on all the working aspects of the museum, in particular, the martyrdom museum. All those present, this year and at the previous editions of the Memorial Forum, are united by the topics of World War II, the Holocaust, victims and perpetrators, Witnesses of history and their passing away known as the Great Silence, as well as the issues of memory, (non-)memory, post-memory, organisational, educational, and social problems, and finally scientific and promotional successes, which make the mission of Memorial Museums fulfilling and satisfying for the employees.
What do we get after the two-day seminar? What we are left with, is the feeling of common aspirations, needs, difficulties and splendours of working in a museum commonly defined as difficult. Our contacts are strengthened, which undoubtedly facilitates our work, broadens our knowledge and gives us a sense of purpose.