Neshama : Quand la jeunesse européenne fait rayonner la flamme de la mémoire

Athens, 29 of January 2026

In a deeply solemne atmosphere this evening in Athens, the Ambassador of France to Greece, H.E. Ms. Laurence Auer, hosted a reception at the French Embassy on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, in the presence of students from the 6th Lyceum of Volos and the Franco-Hellenic School Saint-Paul.
The evening held a deeply moving moment for Ilias Frezis, Director of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, when, through the students' narratives, it was revealed that one of the stories concerned his grandmother, Anna Frezis, a survivor of the Holocaust.
Emotion reached its peak, reminding everyone in the most human way of the importance of living memory.
The event is part of the new European program NESHAMA – Network of Young European Ambassadors for Holocaust Remembrance, launched on the initiative of the Mémorial de la Shoah with the support of the European Commission.
The aim of the program is to ensure the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust through the commitment and active participation of the younger generations.

For its first edition in 2026, NESHAMA brings together young ambassadors from France, Germany, Croatia, Greece, and Poland, along with institutional partners, schools, students, and memorial sites across Europe. Participants include:

• Langenstein-Zwieberge Concentration Camp Memorial (Germany)

• Jasenovac Memorial & Ministry of Science, Education and Youth (Croatia)

• Mémorial de la Shoah & Deportation Victims Monument (France)

• Jewish Museum of Greece & Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports (Greece)

• Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (Poland)

The program officially launched with the 1st European Meeting in Paris (25–28 January 2026), marking the creation of a Europe-wide network of young memory ambassadors.

Honored guests at the reception included Angela Arbelaez-Frezis (President, ART BRIDGES GREECE) Noam Katz (Israeli Ambassador to Greece), Georgios Polydorakis (Head of Greek IHRA Delegation), Chrysoula Aleiferis (Special Envoy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Giorgos Kalantzis (Secretary-General for Religious Affairs of the Minister of Education of the Hellenic Republic), Vasiliki Keramida (Deputy Head, Greek IHRA Delegation), Delia Alhanati (General Secretary of the Jewish Community of Athens), Gabriel Negrin (Chief Rabbi, Athens Jewish Community), and Iosif (Sifis) Ventouras (poet & author).

Read here the Central Board of Jewish Communities Press Release