progress. This includes pledges like the opening of Romania’s National Museum of Jewish History and the Holocaust, the permanent exhibition for which is currently being designed. Likewise, discussions on the United Kingdom’s pledged Online Safety Bill, which aims to tackle harmful content online, are ongoing, as are the IHRA’s efforts to develop recommendations for teaching and learning about the genocide of the Roma.
While many pledges reflect national projects, some were steeped in international cooperation from the outset. An Austrian pledge that resulted in recommendations equipping teachers and school administrators to better address antisemitism both within and outside their classrooms was based on research conducted in Austria, Bavaria, and Switzerland. Other countries have taken note, using the insights gleaned from the Austrian project to inform their own teacher training programs.
The Malmö Forum, and the Swedish IHRA Presidency’s continued follow-up of the pledges, has made it easier for good practices to be identified and implemented elsewhere. When developing policies of their own, countries no longer need to start from scratch. The Malmö Forum effectively has lowered the barrier to entry. Each pledge represents a starting point for countless other new initiatives.
The pandemic reminded us that people quickly turn to hate when faced with a seemingly insurmountable crisis. Today, we are facing many of these. As the cohesion of our pluralistic democracies is tested on many fronts, we must respond with policies that strengthen civil society and counter antisemitism, antigypsyism and racism – we must continue to implement the Malmö Forum pledges – a bulwark against the most damaging effects of today’s multiple crises.