Cecilia Badano, Author at LRE Foundation

LRE Forum 2022 – Statement from the LRE Foundation’s Supervisory Board on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Posted on April 3, 2022April 3, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

Today kicks off the 2022 edition of the LRE Forum, the Foundation’s annual event that brings together an array of international members and partners from across the World War II remembrance sector. With this event taking place in such turbulent and uncertain times, the Foundation’s Supervisory Board would like to share a message of solidarity towards Ukraine and join the international calls for a cease of violence and human rights violations.

“We are saddened and deeply appalled by the ongoing war unfolding in Ukraine. We strongly condemn the aggression enforced by the Russian government and its misleading propaganda that tries to justify the war as a means to ‘liberate’ Ukraine from neo-Nazism. This narrative serves a great dishonour to the men and women, including millions of Soviet soldiers, who gave their lives to liberate Europe during World War II, as well as to the victims of the Nazi persecution.

We stand with the Ukrainian people against this unjust attack on their livelihoods, families, and nation and with the many people fleeing this war. We stand with those in Russia who have bravely protested the belligerent actions of their government and those who are unable to act out of terror and repression. We stand for freedom and democracy, two valiant legacies of the end of the Second World War.

Since its creation, the LRE Foundation has been committed to expanding the knowledge of WWII history, creating a platform of international dialogue, and inviting reflection on the lessons of the past, with the LRE Forum being one of the main expressions of this mission. All this work and effort is meant to promote a peaceful Europe. In these regards, we would like to renew our admiration for the hard work our members and partners put every day into their remembrance projects. The LRE Foundation’s network represents an outstanding example of international cooperation among countries that have been once enemies but found the path of reconciliation and now pursue a shared mission of peace.

Today we believe more than ever in the importance of this mission for education and dialogue to overcome past conflicts and divisions.”

The LRE Foundation’s Supervisory Board

The LRE Forum 2022 opens its doors in Caen, Normandy

Posted on April 1, 2022April 1, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

From 3-6 April 2022 the LRE Foundation, together with Normandy Tourism and Région Normandie, will host the LRE Forum 2022 in Caen. The LRE Forum is the annual event of the LRE Foundation which brings together an array of international members, partners, and tourism stakeholders from across the World War II remembrance sector, to hear updates from experts, network, and attend specialised travel trade events.

The LRE Foundation is looking forward to this year’s in-person multi-day event, which features an engaging programme of activities. Beginning the first day is the Member Seminar, where members of the Foundation can meet each other, exchange ideas and best practices, and hear the organisation’s latest updates and plans.

Following this, the LRE Conference aims to inform and inspire the remembrance sector on its role as a tool for citizenship and impact on today’s world. Opening with the keynote speech Alain Lamassoure, former Minister and Member of the European Parliament, Chairman of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (Council of Europe), will discuss ‘Teaching and learning history in Europe: an instrument of Peace?’, which will then be followed by two panel discussions. The topics ‘The echoes of the past and WWII in our present’ and ‘History and remembrance as a tool for civic engagement’ will be considered by a selection of academic speakers and experts in their field, as they contemplate the role of the remembrance sector within modern society and its potential as a tool for education. A Q&A following each of these panels will offer participants the chance to ask any questions and share their ideas on the subjects. In the evening the Gala, a special dining event for members, key partners, and sponsors of both the Foundation and Normandy, will round off the first day of the Forum.

On April 5, the LREXPO, a thematic trade show, will bring together representatives from remembrance sites, museums, and tourism destinations to network with travel trade stakeholders to offer unique products and form partnerships to reach a broader international audience.

Finally, to close the LRE Forum 2022 edition, participants will have the opportunity to explore the beautiful landmarks of Normandy through guided site visits of the landing beaches and many of the museums and memorials telling the stories of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. Additionally, FAM trips for international tour operators organised in cooperation with the European Travel Commission (co-funded by the European Union), will continue from Normandy to Belgium and the Netherlands to further explore historical sites in the two countries which were key in the liberation of Europe at the end of WWII.

To read the full programme: www.lre-foundation.org/forum

Region Tuscany joins LRE Italy as member

Posted on March 11, 2022March 11, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

The LRE Foundation welcomes with great enthusiasm the news of the recent addition of Region Tuscany as a new member of LRE Italy. Tuscany is both a key region for tourism and WWII history in Italy and as such we are convinced that this collaboration will bring incredible value to the LRE Foundation and LRE Italy’s networks and will pave the way for other future memberships in Italy.

Paolo Bongini, President of LRE Italy, said of the new membership:

“It is a great honour for us, as well as a real pleasure, to have such an important region as Tuscany by our side. Tuscany is the land where creativity, culture and development come together with heritage and environmental sustainability. Moreover, during the struggle to liberate the country from Nazi-fascism, Tuscan people fought bravely for peace and freedom.

Liberation Route Italy is looking forward to working together with the region to exchange valuable ideas and support our mission. Region Tuscany is greatly aware of the importance of memory transmission about the country’s liberation and resistance. We are also excited for the foreseen opportunities for the touristic development of the many remembrance sites in the region.

The membership will bring additional capacities for the development of the Liberation Route Europe hiking trails on which we are working with the Italian Ministry of Culture. With the 80th anniversary of the liberation in sight, in 2025, we will work hard to seize this great opportunity to also promote a more sustainable form of tourism in our beautiful country.”

LRE Foundation welcomes the Museum of Gdańsk to the network

Posted on February 18, 2022February 21, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

The LRE Foundation is happy to announce the addition of the Museum of Gdańsk, Poland, to its network of members. A key institution in a city that is symbolic of the start of WWII, the Museum of Gdańsk is in charge of preserving some key WWII-related sites like Westerplatte.

The Museum of Gdańsk documents the history of the city from the Middle Ages to contemporary times. It manages several historical sites within the city, two of which are related to the outbreak of the Second World War – the Guardhouse n.1 at Westerplatte and the Polish Post Museum.

Both these locations were attacked by Nazi German troops on 1 September 1939, therefore they were among the first sites to be involved in the Second World War. While Guardhouse nr. 1 was the most important stronghold in defence of the Westerplatte peninsula, the Polish Post and Telegraph Office was a key building to be seized by the German troops. It is now a museum presenting the story of the Polish community in the Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk) (1920-1939). Soon, a new, expanded exhibition will cover the basement of the building, where Polish defenders made their last stand.

Entering an international network like the LRE Foundation will allow improved visibility of the remembrance sites in Gdańsk at a European level and work together with international parties and organisations.

“Poles living in the former Free City of Danzig, regardless of their occupation and of their citizenship, were the first to fight and the first to suffer during the outbreak of the Second World War. By joining the Liberation Route we commemorate their bravery and sacrifices made in those dark times. – tells Waldemar Ossowski, the director of the Museum of Gdańsk. – Although our Museum preserves objects and stories from a distant past, we consider sharing knowledge about the Second World War as our special responsibility. This is why we research the past, publish books, organize exhibitions and events open to the public either in the Museum of the Polish Post Office, Guardhouse no 1 at Westerplatte, while developing the Brunon Zwarra Remembrance Centre for the Poles of the Free City of Danzig.”

Rémi Praud, Managing Director of the LRE Foundation: “We are glad to welcome the Museum of Gdańsk to our network. We look forward to working together to promote the war heritage of the city of Gdańsk, and we hope that the Museum of Gdańsk will pave the way for other Polish WWII remembrance institutions to join us.”

LRE Foundation announces new date for LRE Forum 2022 : 3-6 April 2022

Posted on February 3, 2022February 3, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

After careful consideration, the LRE Foundation has decided to postpone the LRE Forum 2022 due to the current Covid-19 situation across Europe. Originally scheduled to take place in February, the LRE Forum 2022 will now take place from 3-6 April 2022.

We have been extremely pleased with the positive interest shown in this year’s edition of the LRE Forum and the large number of registrations for the event. However, given the current pandemic situation, we have decided that to host a safe and enjoyable event for everyone, which remains our priority, it is necessary to postpone the event to April. In this way we can safely hold our Forum and, as planned, enable partners and stakeholders to come together to develop new ideas and practices through the event’s selection of engaging activities.

In the meantime, more information on the Forum is available here, and if you would like to participate you can register here for the LRE Forum 2022 on 3-6 April.

The Forum will take place in the same location, the beautiful city of Caen in Normandy, France, offering participants the opportunity to discover the region’s important WWII history. The event is jointly organised by the LRE Foundation, the Region of Normandy, and Normandy Tourism.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Normandy!

Liberation Route Europe adds new trails following in the footsteps of Canadian Liberators

Posted on January 21, 2022July 18, 2024 by Cecilia Badano

The LRE Foundation is pleased to announce the development of the Canadian Liberation Route, an important new addition to the Liberation Route Europe hiking trails network. The Canadian Liberation Route will follow the Canadian advance to liberate the Netherlands in 1944-1945. This special route, already coming together in the Netherlands, aims to stretch in the future from Juno Beach, where the Canadian troops landed on D-Day, to the Netherlands, passing through Belgium and Germany.

In 2022, the ‘In the Footsteps of the Canadian Liberators’ trail will be developed in the Netherlands. The route will cross the provinces of Zeeland, North Brabant, Gelderland, Overijssel, Friesland, Drenthe, ending in the province of Groningen. Last year, the Dutch National Foundation for Peace, Freedom and Veteran Care (vfonds) announced its support for this new remembrance project.

An important section of the new route will be developed in the provinces of Drenthe, Friesland and Groningen in the Netherlands with the support of the provinces themselves and will enable visitors to learn the fascinating history of these regions in the real context of where it took place, with a physical route to explore. The LRE Foundation has received the support of several other partners and municipalities in the northern part of the Netherlands to create this special route, which will be not only part of the national Canadian Liberation Route trail system but also part of the existing network of footpaths connecting the most important regions of the Allied advance in Europe in the last years of World War Two.

The theme of the new route acknowledges a large part of the commemorations in the Netherlands, which are connected with the Canadian deployment in 1944 and 1945. The Canadian troops paid a heavy price for the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War Two, but few people are aware of this. The new route aims to connect the stories and places of the liberation by Canadian forces, making them visible and accessible so that this eventful history is remembered. The route forms a literal connection between museums, monuments and stories and gives them a sustainable character.

EASTory through their Eyes online exhibition

Posted on January 7, 2022January 7, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

The Eastory through their Eyes exhibition is now available online and presents the stories of twenty people who experienced World War II and its consequences in Eastern and Western Europe. The EU-funded project is composed of an exhibition and youth events.

The twenty profiles of the EASTory through their Eyes exhibition are women and men, civilians and militaries, and they belong to different ethnic and social groups. They sometimes fought on opposite sides or lived the profoundly different consequences of WWII in the East and West of Europe. The aim of presenting these diverse stories is to increase knowledge and stimulate mutual understanding and dialogue between young people from two areas of Europe that have long been divided but are now part of the European Union.

The online exhibition is available in six languages – English, French, German, Dutch, Polish, and Czech – at this link.

The EASTory through their Eyes exhibition is currently on display at the Bastogne War Museum (Belgium) and will then travel to the Home Army Museum Krakow (Poland), the City of Pilsen (Czechia) and the German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst (Germany). Four youth events will be organised in these cities in the first half of 2022. During the events, local students will meet eyewitnesses, take part in workshops, and reflect on the stories and legacy of WWII for Europe.

EASTory through their Eyes is funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union and is the second edition of History through their Eyes. For more information about the project, visit the dedicated page on o ur website.

The LRE Forum 2022 receives the label of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Posted on December 15, 2021February 2, 2022 by Cecilia Badano

The LRE Foundation is excited to present the LRE Forum 2022, which will be held 2-5 February 2022 [POSTPONED to 3-6 April 2022] in the beautiful city of Caen, Normandy, and proudly announce that the event has been assigned the label of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2022. The label represents a sign of appreciation of the importance of the work done not only by the Foundation but also by its network of organisations involved in the memory transmission of the Second World War and belonging to many different sectors related to culture, heritage, tourism and education.

Rémi Praud, Managing Director of the LRE Foundation: “We are proud to have received the label from the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and be part of its official program. This is the recognition of the central place of war history in the construction of a peaceful and reconciled Europe, making sure that the lessons of the past are not forgotten.”

The Foundation’s annual Forum event brings together members, partners and tourism stakeholders to hear updates from experts, network, and attend specialised travel trade events, encouraging them to develop new ideas and practices within the WWII and remembrance sector.

This year’s event offers several engaging activities:

• The LRE Member Seminar provides an occasion to meet with other members of the LRE Foundation, discuss their experiences, and hear the Foundation’s latest updates.

• The LRE Conference features a variety of engaging speakers, in-depth keynotes and panel discussions, which consider the remembrance sector’s potential as a tool for citizenship and shaping today’s world.

• The LRE Gala dining event offers valuable networking opportunities for Foundation members, key partners, and sponsors.

• LREXPO provides representatives from remembrance sites, museums, and tourism destinations with an excellent opportunity to network with travel trade stakeholders.

In addition to the key events of the Forum, participants will also have the opportunity to discover some of Normandy’s remembrance sites, a region rich in WWII history. Organised site visits will be available to several of the area’s most influential locations, museums, and memorials.

This year’s Forum is jointly organised by the LRE Foundation, the Region of Normandy and Normandy Tourism.
For more information about the LRE Forum 2022 and to register for the event, see here.

*The LRE Forum 2022 is organised in the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
This event is not organised by the French Government. It is however authorised by the French Government to use the emblem of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

LRE Foundation and Kuoni Tumlare team up to offer a range of engaging WWII trip itineraries

Posted on November 25, 2021November 25, 2021 by Cecilia Badano

The LRE Foundation is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Kuoni Tumlare, a leading international Destination Management company. In a new and exciting venture, the Foundation has teamed up with Kuoni Tumlare to create a selection of engaging trip itineraries for US and Canadian travellers who are looking to discover the history of Europe in the final years of WWII and the stories behind its liberation.

Kuoni Tumlare is a leading Destination Management company providing travel partners services throughout Europe since 1906. Kuoni Tumlare’s strength is the nineteen (19) local European offices that allow the company to provide personalised group services and customised itineraries, which offer travellers memorable, exciting, and educative experiences.

Thanks to this cooperation, American and Canadian travellers and history enthusiasts will be able to enjoy four expertly-designed packages focused around sites in Normandy, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and Norway, through which they will be able to explore the important places and learn the incredible stories of Europe’s liberators along the Liberation Route Europe. “Kuoni Tumlare is honoured to partner with the LRE Foundation to provide these important World War II remembrance tours, especially for the generations of Americans and Canadians to come”, says David Shield, Sales Manager at Kuoni Tumlare.

The tours created through this collaboration will enable the Foundation to spotlight many of its members, including museums, cemeteries and memorials related to WWII history and remembrance, and make the Liberation Route Europe network even more accessible and internationally known. The four packages available are:

Normandy, France: a 9-day itinerary encompassing the principal battlefields of WWII in the Normandy region of Northern France. Sites include Omaha and Utah beaches, the Contentin Peninsula, Saint-Lô and finally Falaise before returning to Paris.
Benelux: a 10-day trip focusing on key sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg area. This excursion focuses on Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. From Eindhoven to Arnhem, Bastogne, the Ardennes, to Malmedy and ending in Brussels, some highlights include visits to important battle sites, museums, and the notable Hells Highway.

Italy: An 8-day itinerary starting in Rome and ending in Florence, taking in a tour of the Eternal City, including Mussolini’s “new city”, and the Ghetto. Discover story of the Ardreatine Caves, and the Abbey and military cemeteries of Cassino, before heading to Lucca and Florence to explore their WWII history.
Norway: an 11-day excursion taking in some of the immense wartime fortresses and fascinating museums the country has to offer, as well as a trip on the impressive Flambaan railway and a Nærøyfjord cruise. The route starts in Hirtshals/Bergen, onto Stalheim, Geilo and Rjukan area before ending in Oslo.

“We are beyond happy to be collaborating with Kuoni. The combination of Kuoni’s expertise in tourism and travel and the Foundation’s network and remembrance knowledge resulted in four exciting tours touching many of the most important sites linked to our common history. We went into this venture with special attention to our members and partners, intending to bring their stories to many tour operators and US and Canadian travellers, and we are pleased to see this becoming a reality.”

Rémi Praud, LRE Foundation's Managing Director