On the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca called for people to speak out against bigotry and hatred to ensure that the atrocities of Auschwitz are never repeated.

“Genocide does not just take place in isolation. It is part of a steady process that begins where discrimination, racism, xenophobia and hatred are allowed to grow,” the President said during an event at Verdala Palace marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.

“The Holocaust and subsequent genocides took place because of an insidious silence that allowed persecution to build momentum. And discrimination has not ended, nor have we heard the last of the language of hatred and exclusion.”

The memorial event – organised by the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society – brought together students from Maltese Sixth Forms and Renzo Levi Jewish high school in Italy for workshops with local experts on interfaith dialogue, verbal violence and discrimination.

The workshops’ outcomes were presented in front of an audience including several government ministers, faith leaders from the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities of the Maltese islands, ambassadors, and academics.

Addressing participants, Ms Coleiro Preca called on young people to use education and knowledge as a shield against extremism.

“As European citizens we are all responsible for making Europe an example of a better world,” she said, “a reality where each citizen can contribute to the strengthening of fundamental human rights, the safeguarding of our natural world, and the mission of dialogue between cultures and between peoples.”