Betty & Shmuel Rosenkranz Oration: What Do We Stand For? History, Memory and Responsibility in a Changing World
Description
Join us for the Melbourne Holocaust Museum’s annual Betty & Shmuel Rosenkranz Oration, a thought-provoking evening exploring the responsibilities we carry from history and the values that guide us in a changing world.
The evening will feature an address by Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, followed by a panel discussion with the Governor-General, Nina Bassat AM and Dr Breann Szczepanik, CEO of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
Together, they will reflect on the enduring importance of Holocaust memory, the responsibility to confront antisemitism and intolerance, and the role of education, remembrance and civic leadership in shaping our shared future.
The Rosenkranz Oration invites us to consider not only what we remember, but how we respond to the world we inherit and the future we help shape.
An evening of reflection, dialogue and shared responsibility, open to all.
Lineup
Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
Ms Sam Mostyn AC was sworn in as Australia’s 28th Governor-General on 1 July 2024. A businesswoman and community leader, Ms Mostyn is known for her exceptional service to the Australian community. She has a long history in executive and governance roles across diverse sectors, including business, sport, climate change, the arts, policy and not-for-profit. In 2024, Ms Mostyn was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service in the social justice, gender equity, sporting, cultural and business sectors, to reconciliation, and to environmental sustainability. She had previously been appointed an Officer of the Order in 2021. For her continued contribution as an advocate for gender inclusion and equality, sustainability, and climate change action, Ms Mostyn was awarded the 2020 United Nations Day Honour Award and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Australian National University in 2018. Most recently, Ms Mostyn chaired the boards of Aware Super, Centre for Policy Development, Beyond Blue, Australians Investing in Women, Foundation for Young Australians, Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) and The Climate Council. She has also served on the boards of some of Australia’s leading companies including Mirvac, Citi Australia, Transurban and Virgin Australia. She dedicated more than a decade to the boards of the GO Foundation and Climateworks Australia, during this time she also served on the boards of Tonic Media and Global Business & Sustainable Development Commission. Ms Mostyn was a Commissioner with the Australian Football League for over a decade until 2017. She has also been a strong supporter of women in sport, and was an advocate for the creation of the AFL Women’s league and co-founded the Minerva Network, Australia’s only mentorship and development program dedicated to professional female athletes. From 2013–2017, she was President of the Australian Council for International Development. Ms Mostyn became an inaugural commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission in 2012 and Deputy Chair of the Diversity Council of Australia in 2010. She served on the Australian faculty of the Cambridge University Business & Sustainability Leadership Program from 2010–2024. She has contributed to independent reviews for the betterment of the community as a member of the panel of the Crawford Sports Funding Review (2009), and Review of the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force (2012). She chaired the NSW Government Women’s Economic Opportunities Review (2022), and Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce report (2023). She also held membership to the boards of Reconciliation Australia and Australia Council for the Arts. Before taking on non-executive roles, she held senior executive roles at Insurance Australia Group, Optus, and Cable & Wireless plc.
Nina Bassat AM
Nina Bassat AM is one of Australia’s most distinguished Jewish community leaders. With a decades of extraordinary service, she has held senior leadership roles at state, national and international levels, including as the first woman President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and the first Holocaust survivor and first woman lawyer to serve as President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Dr Breann Szczepanik
Dr Breann Szczepanik is the Chief Executive Officer at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. Working across the museums, education and human rights sectors Dr Szczepanik is also the president of the National Education Network for the Australian Museums and Galleries Association and a board director at the National Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre. She gave evidence for the Museum at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion and also served as an expert on the 2023 federal senate inquiry into the national ban on Nazi symbols, which was ultimately successful. Dr Szczepanik worked previously at the Sydney Jewish Museum and taught in the Studies in Religion department at the University of Sydney for over three years; her research interests include religion and violence, genocide, human rights, cinema, material religion, and gender, having published on all of these topics. A regular in the media, Breann is the host of the documentary ‘Trafficked to Australia’, was co-editor of the podcast ‘The Religious Studies Project,’ and has hosted ABC Radio National program ‘God Forbid.’ She has also appeared on ABC Radio National programs ‘Religion and Ethics Report,’ and ‘Earshot’ among others.
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