The Tour for Humanity was in Bowmanville today working with more teens and adults from their alternative education program. Although the rain and wind kept some students away from school yesterday, we still had good attendance for the 3 sessions of Global Perspectives on Genocide. Students were all very impressed with the RV and the school's Vice Principal was very kind and welcoming. There were a few students that seemed very interested in World War II and the Holocaust and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Educator Elena had some good conversations around the ideology of the Nazis and how they were able to manipulate public opinion. One student was able to share his knowledge with his classmates about the origins of the swastika and Elena used that as an opportunity to talk about the continued use of this and other antisemitic graffiti in the world today. Elena also drew the connection between different genocides and the use of young people to perpetrate violence and told them that the best way to defend yourself against manipulation is to learn as much as possible and to think critically and not just follow the crowd. There was also an interesting conversation around the Residential School system and its continued impact on reservations. One student shared her own indigenous heritage and the fact that she sees a lot of the lasting impact when she visits extended family in northern Ontario. Elena spoke about the concept of cultural genocide and some of the broader policies that went along with the Indian Act.