In 1999, “Memoria y Tolerancia A.C.” (Memory and Tolerance, Non-profit Organization) was founded as such with the purpose of transmitting tolerance through the memory of history. By showing the most significant examples of intolerance committed by mankind, such as acts of genocide, we can come to understand the value of tolerance and diversity.

Since its onset, “Memoria y Tolerancia” planed an Educational Museum and Center in Mexico City, believing that the best tool for the creation of awareness is through learning and education

Why Mexico City?

“Memoria y Tolerancia” sees our Mexico as a country of freedom, unequalled riches, and warm and open people who day after day face the challenges that can only be overcome by an aware and participating society. However, there is much to do in order to create awareness, faced with the continuing indifference and intolerance that affects our existence. This is why this initiative intends to motivate Mexican society to reflect, in turn, on our role and responsibility in the development of our environment.Mission

To teach and diffuse among Mexican society, the importance of tolerance and diversity. To create awareness through the memory of history and the significance of the Holocaust and other genocides; alerting the visitor as to the dangers of hate, discrimination and indifference, in order to thus create awareness, respect and responsibility in each individual.

Mission

To teach and diffuse among Mexican society, the importance of tolerance and diversity. To create awareness through the memory of history and the significance of the Holocaust and other genocides; alerting the visitor as to the dangers of hate, discrimination and indifference, in order to thus create awareness, respect and responsibility in each individual.

Objectives

• To inform visitors regarding the extent and consequences of hate, discrimination and intolerance.
• To foster the values of tolerance and respect.
• To encourage new generations to seek a healthier coexistence, while being more committed to their surroundings.
• To encourage visitors to do some soul-searching and have a change of heart.
• To nurture reflection that stems from social action.
• To educate and create awareness of commitment towards the needs of the more vulnerable.
• To give a new interpretation to the meaning of the word tolerance and its connotation.

Public

The message is directed towards all types of the public in general, although we are mainly focused towards the Mexican youth who are the future of our country, in the hope for a new place for youngsters where they will find a space for dialogue, reflection and action.

Social Impact

This project opens our country up to the possibility of becoming aware and penetrating these topics in order to create awareness of those who remain indifferent or estranged from the awareness and practice of tolerance. The creation of a Museum and an Educational Center of a social nature, undoubtedly has immense potential to be a great stimulus for change.

Location

The Museum is located in the Historical Center of Mexico City in “Plaza Juárez” of “Avenida Juárez”, being the supreme work of the renowned architect, Legorreta; and it shares the space of the plaza with the new Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Family Courts.

Cultural Center

Apart from its permanent exhibitions, the Museum also has a Library, a Media Library, a Temporary Exhibition area, an Auditorium and an Educational Center for courses, diplomas, round tables and debates, as well as training for educators and teachers on topics related to the institution.

The Museum is divided into two large sections: Memory and Tolerance.

Memory

The theme of the historic memory of genocides is shown here.

• Holocaust
• Former Yugoslavia (Srebrenica)
• Rwanda

Other cases of genocide and crimes against humanity are presented, as well as a current case considered as an “alert to genocide”.

• Guatemala
• Cambodia
• Darfur

The Holocaust starts the tour of the Memory area given its particularity and educational message. The Armenian massacre is exhibited as antecedent, taken by Rafael Lemkin, to coin the term “genocide”. The cases of Cambodia, Rwanda, Guatemala and the Former Yugoslavia (Srebrenica) are pronounced by distinct local and international institutions as genocides or are in the process of being. Finally, Darfur is exhibited given that it is a current event and it is recognized as an “alert to genocide” by various international bodies.

Tolerance

This exhibition presents the topic of tolerance to the visitor, from everyday life to public matters. This section is comprised of 20 halls profoundly developed by experts in the field, and designed didactically in order for students to be able to reflect on each of the topics.

• The road to Tolerance: Artistic mural to be created by the renowned painter, Rafael Cauduro.
• Myself and others: Through the question, Who am I? The objective is to have the visitor reflect, in turn, on his/her identity and the role others play in his/her own identity.
• Stereotypes and prejudices: In this space the visitor confronts his/her prejudices.
• Dialogue: This space teaches the importance of dialogue, showing some of the great dialogues of history that have achieved peace and understanding.
• The power of the word: Shows the implications of our words.
• Building tolerance: This space enables visitors to recapitulate his/her experience on the course to build tolerance.
• Discrimination, hate and violence: A space of high artistic content and subject matter where discrimination is denounced, while showing us how discrimination can subsequently lead us into intolerance.
• Tolerance: Is an artistic space illustrating the significance and importance of tolerance.
• The power of the media (Radio, Press, Advertising, TV, Cinema, Internet, Video Games): Visitors are led to understand the need to apply critical awareness towards the media.
• Human Rights: This space creatively and interactively shows the rights of all mankind.
• The richness of diversity: This space exhibits the distinct contributions made by distinct cultures in humanity.
• Working for humanity: There are institutions and government and non-government organizations that have been set up in order to prevent crimes against humanity. How much have they achieved? Their efforts are significant but still not enough; it is important for us to get involved; it is not the work of a mere few, but rather of us all.
• Our world: A great mural of maps showing the progress in matters of Human Rights for the entire planet.
• Intolerable realities: The visitor is informed and led to become aware of some intolerable realities that violate basic human rights, among which are social exclusion, child pornography, antipersonnel land mines and child labor, among other topics.
• The present-day: This area is composed of blackboards showing the most important latest news on topics related to the museum.
• Our Mexico: One of the most important and emotive halls is that of Our Mexico. It seeks to lead visitors to recognize and value the diversity that characterizes our Mexico. At the same time, it is also important to recognize the importance of tolerance and the social inclusion of groups that suffer discrimination and marginalization, finished off with examples of Human Rights violations in our country.
• Forum of Your Responsibility: Presents visitors with circumstances of their everyday lives in which they commit acts of discrimination and irresponsibility, thus striving to create the awareness that we are susceptible to slipping into irresponsible and discriminatory attitudes.
• Lessons for humanity: Account of struggles and endeavors by society to achieve civil rights, women’s rights, movements of nonviolence, religious tolerance and humanitarianism.
• Commitment and indifference: This is the last hall of the tour though the museum, which seeks to transcend the traditional limitations of a museum in order to become a space promoting our sense of responsibility and commitment as human beings. An ambitious project is being worked on that intends to foster the quality of helping our fellowman through projects directed towards the most vulnerable of our society, while nurturing aware and responsible young people.
• Choose you attitude: This space seeks to create the awareness in the visitor that each attitude we adopt has a consequence. This hall enables the visitor to make a final reflection on the tour, showing the importance of adopting attitudes of responsibility and awareness faced with any situation.

Area for under-twelves. This space occupies an entire floor of the museum, consisting of workshops for children, where, through games, stories and dynamics, they are shown the value of tolerance, respect and diversity. It is never too early to begin to teach the importance of tolerance.