West University of Timișoara (WUT) leads two work packages that anchor the project’s pedagogical and governance backbone. In WP3, our team designs a holistic, interdisciplinary framework for Holocaust education that integrates cognitive work with sources, affective-ethical reflection, and technical dimensions such as AI-enabled digital storytelling. This WP progresses from literature review and methodology to multi-country focus groups, culminating in deliverables D3.1 (Pedagogical and Ethical Framework for Holocaust Education). The design emphasizes trauma-informed, culturally embedded teaching, GDPR-compliant consent, and the use of testimonies—specifically two CENTROPA testimonies per participating country—rather than new survivor interviews.
In WP11, WUT steers the Transnational Governance Framework (M5–M19), mapping and networking stakeholders across Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Serbia, Romania, and Moldova (with possible extension to Hungary). By M9 we had secured a diverse set of actors—including student, civic, municipal, museum, research, and Jewish community partners—and we coordinate a one-day multilingual online event on 28 January 2026 aimed at broad public and youth engagement (>300 participants expected). The governance approach blends practical database tooling (spreadsheet/Airtable templates) with inclusion and historical justice principles, and targets 20–25 mapped stakeholders by M19. This creates a durable, values-based ecosystem for remembrance and civic participation that will outlast the project timeline.
WUT’s added value combines long-standing curricular expertise—such as the BA-level course “Philosophical-historical interpretations of the Holocaust”—with senior research leadership in philosophy, social sciences, and public policy. The team’s profiles include leadership in human rights and diplomacy (Silviu E. Rogobete), public health and social research methods with advanced data skills (Carmen V. Baias), and Holocaust studies, philosophical and ethical counselling, and project management across EU programs (Florin Lobonț). This mix uniquely equips us to bridge ethical theory, methodological rigor, and stakeholder practice across education, heritage, and civic sectors.
We view the project’s importance through its explicit aim to enhance Holocaust education and awareness via AI-mediated, culturally responsive interactions, preserving survivor testimonies and enabling accessible, engaging learning for younger generations. WUT’s WP3 framework and WP11 governance work operationalize this aim: they help ensure that technological innovation is ethically grounded, pedagogically sound, and institutionally embedded. The anticipated societal impact is a strengthened civic memory infrastructure that counteracts denial and distortion, supports educators and communities, and offers scalable models for remembrance across Europe within the CERV action’s 24-month timeline (1 May 2025–30 April 2027).
