A Dundee student has been selected as the UK’s only ambassador for a special Holocaust memorial event.
Daniel Pukkila - a fourth year at Abertay University - was chosen ahead of hundreds of other candidates for the prestigious role.
He will now play a key part in the project that helps Holocaust survivors share their stories on social media.
The scheme was launched by Israel’s Foreign Ministry earlier this year and connects young volunteers with Holocaust survivors.
Daniel, from Finland, was selected to take part in the project out of hundreds of applicants from around the world and is the only UK participant.
He has been paired with Aviva Komaroff, a child survivor born in 1940, who lost most of her family in the Holocaust.
Aviva’s parents and sister fled Poland to Lithuania where Aviva was born - her family that was left behind in Poland were murdered.
Her mother's brother, his wife and her eleven children were shot into mass graves in the Lopukhova forest.
Commenting on the project, Daniel said: “The desire to do something about antisemitism was the main driving force behind my decision to apply for this project so I’m honoured to have been selected out of hundreds of applicants.
“I feel we all have a responsibility to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive so that we can ensure it never happens again.
“I’m humbled that this project offers me the opportunity to play my part in that.”
And talking about his bond with Aviva he added: “Aviva was reluctant to speak about her experience for many years.
“However, in her later life, she is keen to raise awareness of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime and takes every opportunity to tell her story.
“I have bonded with Aviva over their willingness to educate people about the Holocaust.
“Having the opportunity to talk to a Holocaust survivor is an enlightening and humbling experience that will widen my own perspective and outlook on life.”
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