One week ahead of the LRE Forum 2026, the LRE Foundation will launch the first edition of the LRE Youth Forum: The Future of Remembrance, an international gathering dedicated to young Europeans aged 18–25.
Taking place on 2 and 3 March 2026 in Nijmegen, the LRE Youth Forum invites young people from The Netherlands and across Europe to come together, exchange perspectives, and engage critically with history, memory, and contemporary challenges. Set in a city deeply shaped by the Second World War, the forum creates a space for dialogue between past and present, encouraging participants to reflect on how remembrance is discussed, questioned, and reinterpreted across generations.
Over two days, the programme explores how the legacies of war and violence continue to shape societies today. Through plenary discussions, workshops, and visits to historical sites, participants are invited to engage with memory not as something fixed, but as a lived and evolving process.
The forum opens on Monday 2 March with a plenary session at Lindenberg’s Valkhof Hall. This is followed by two parallel sessions: a discussion on documenting the war in Ukraine and its connection to Ukrainian Second World War history, and a workshop on The Future of Remembrance, led by Scuola di Pace di Monte Sole. Participants will take part in both sessions, rotating between them throughout the day.
On Tuesday 3 March, the programme continues with a workshop focused on creating historical content, offering young participants the opportunity to engage directly with Second World War history through the curation of personal stories. The morning concludes with a collective reflection on the future of remembrance, during which participants develop shared conclusions that will be presented at the LRE Forum 2026. In the afternoon, the programme includes a visit to the WWII Information Centre, a guided historical tour of Nijmegen, and a visit to the Valkhof bunker.
Organised by the LRE Foundation, the Youth Forum is part of a wider effort to connect people and organisations working on the memory and meaning of the Second World War across Europe. In particular, the Youth Forum offers young participants the chance to meet peers from different countries, exchange ideas, and reflect together on why history still matters today and how it can inform engagement in the present.
The LRE Youth Forum takes place one week ahead of the LRE Forum 2026, the LRE Foundation’s annual international gathering. This year, the four-day event will be held in Gelderland in cooperation with the Cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen and the Province of Gelderland, bringing together professionals from institutions across Europe working to research, preserve, and transmit the memory and lessons of the Second World War.
Registration for the LRE Youth Forum is now open.
If you are aged 18–25 and want to join – or know someone who might be – early registration is recommended, as places are limited. Please sign up before February 24th.
More information and sign-up here.
