4. C ooperation and stakeholder engagement
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vital aspect of long-term protection is creating positive rapport with local authorities, identifying proactive leaders who are willing to take on the role of guardians, and developing the legal and institutional settings to guarantee the support these vulnerable sites require. Just as vital is outreach to local communities, civil society and grassroots organisations who often take it upon themselves to save cemeteries and whose work could be connected to other stakeholders such as descendants and foreign-based NGOs. The ESJF shares stories of cooperation on social media, on the project website, and in our Catalogue of Best Practices for Jewish Cemetery Preservation. Although the pandemic limited some potential stakeholder engagement opportunities, significant developments were made nonetheless. Throughout the course of the second pilot, the ESJF signed cooperation agreements with the Jewish communities of Hungary and Slovakia, worked with the Jewish community of Croatia and Croatian Ministry of Culture, and connected with numerous lay leaders in all project countries to build essential rapport and raise awareness of our project on the ground.
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