Toronto (October 9, 2020) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) and Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) are pleased to announce a partnership on a new educational program focused on educating Canadians about the Holocaust and other genocides and the importance of standing up for human rights.

The program is a bi-weekly virtual speaker series featuring survivors of genocide and other mass atrocities, including the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide, that’s presented to students, educators and other members of the public. The program’s first speaker was Rwandan genocide survivor and peace-builder Emery Rutagonya who shared his testimony and answered questions from viewers on Wednesday. Upcoming speakers include Holocaust survivors Vera Schiff and Leonard Vis.

“As two organizations that are focused on education, the promotion of human rights and reflecting on the lessons of the Holocaust to ensure such atrocities never happen again, this is the perfect partnership,” said Michael Levitt, FSWC president and CEO. “Together we will provide an outlet to those who had been silenced to share their stories of survival and work to empower people of all ages to stand up and speak out in the face of hate and injustice.”

“The launch of this important partnership between the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies is for the preservation of Holocaust remembrance, countering antisemitism and the combatting of genocide and mass atrocities as part of the larger struggle of human rights in our time,” said Irwin Cotler, founder and chair of RWCHR.

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