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Today, Tour for Humanity spent the day at a Catholic High School north of Toronto where we presented 4 Global Perspectives workshops to Grade 10 students. This workshop begins with a screening of a three-part documentary series produced by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) entitled The Holocaust, Universal Genocide and Real World Heroes. The Ten Stages of Genocide are then discussed in relation to the Holocaust and other world genocides, including Rwanda, Cambodia and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe under Joseph Stalin’s reign. Student discussion is encouraged

While the classes were very quiet, the students were attentive and engaged in the presentations.The third class of the day was an ELL class (English Language Learners) predominantly from China and Brazil. Due to the language barrier FSWC Educator Daniella refocused the  workshop to include more Holocaust-based terminology and a basic timeline of World War II in order for the class to gain a basic understanding of this history. Daniella was also conscious of the fact that many of these students had never learned about the Holocaust in their home countries. Daniella felt the students left the workshop with an overview of the Holocaust and both historical and current antisemitism.

Another topic on everyone's mind today was the attack in Manchester last night. It was evident that some students felt unsettled. Although there was not much Daniella could say to ease their fears, she used the opportunity to tie the past into the present and reminded the students that it was so important for each of them to be vigilant in the face of hatred and intolerance as it is so easy for hatred to spread. They were left with the message that they each had the ability to create positive change in their schools and communities.