Terraforming in Vienna: Workshop on Contemporary Antisemitism in Museums and Memorials from a Post-Yugoslav Perspective
Nevena Bajalica, Program Manager, and Miško Stanišić, Director of Terraforming, led the workshop ‘Recognizing, Understanding and Responding to Contemporary Antisemitism in Museums and Memorials – A Post-Yugoslav Perspective for the Austrian Context’ in Vienna on November 3, 2025. The event was organized at the invitation of Museumsbund Österreich (Austrian Museums Association).
The workshop explored questions such as the connections between Austrian and Serbian perspectives on Holocaust memory, the specifics of contemporary antisemitism in Serbia, how memory can be misused to promote nationalism, and what inclusive cultural memory means. These were among the key topics discussed.
Should museums address contemporary antisemitism
Participants included staff from museums and memory institutions, artists, cultural mediators, political educators, and trainers from NGOs.
The workshop focused on whether museums should address contemporary antisemitism, why this is important, and how they can recognize and respond to it in their own settings.
There were many questions and an open discussion about the role of museums and others in dealing with contemporary antisemitism, especially in light of recent events after October 7.
“This workshop underscored that museums and memorials cannot stay silent in the face of rising contemporary antisemitism. The constructive engagement from Austrian professionals shows a shared readiness to strengthen inclusive, responsible memory practices. Our discussions in Vienna demonstrated how valuable it is to bring post-Yugoslav perspectives into dialogue with Austrian institutions as we confront contemporary antisemitism together. ”
said Miško Stanišić, Director of Terraforming.
Terraforming work
Bajalica and Stanišić shared examples from Serbia and presented Terraforming’s work, including developing educational resources such as the ABC on Antisemitism, UP2US – mapping the ability among critical target audiences to recognize antisemitism, supporting young Jewish and Roma voices through inclusive memory culture, creating graphic novels about the Holocaust, and linking global history with local stories.
“Our workshop in Vienna confirmed how internationally relevant Terraforming’s educational resources are for understanding and responding to contemporary antisemitism. The strong interest in tools like the ABC on Antisemitism, UP2US, and our inclusive memory-culture initiatives shows that these approaches resonate far beyond the Serbian context and can support museums and memorials worldwide.”
said Nevena Bajalica, Programe Manager.