The New York-based YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw (MHPJ) have announced a multi-level partnership agreement. According to the Oct. 22 news release, the agreement is the first of its kind for both parties, and will “promote general knowledge of Polish Jewish history and culture through innovative exchange and educational and public programs.”
A separate release from the Museum states that:
The institutions plan to cooperate on many levels: through the development of cooperative scholarly research projects, joint publications, temporary exhibitions, as well as conferences, seminars and workshops. The institutions also wish to develop a wide range of educational projects and exchange knowledge and materials.
One of the key elements of this momentous agreement is the further development of the Museum’s Resource Center. The Resource Center will supplement the Core Exhibition of the Museum as a facility for gaining deeper knowledge about the history and heritage of Polish Jews. It will be an information hub through which visitors will be able to actively explore the world of Polish Jews.
A spokesperson at YIVO provided more detail, telling JHE that the partnership will entail:
Creation of common scholarly and education advisory committees in order to design long-term research and educational programs;
Development of cooperative scholarly research projects, resulting in publications, temporary exhibitions, or conferences;
Organization of milestone scholarly events, such as international conferences, workshops, and seminars, as well as signature events on milestone occasions, such as the 2015 anniversary of YIVO, that may result in bilingual conference volumes;
Development of educational projects, include exchange of experience and staff training, preparation of programs and educational materials, or translation of EPYC into Polish;
Creation and development of the MHPJ’s Resource Center with YIVO’s intellectual tradition, history, and resources as major part of the Center’s content and theme;
Digitization projects, including creation of a Polish interface and finding aid for YIVO digital database