Toronto-March 30, 2017 – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) congratulateswinners of its sixth annual Speaker's Idol evening held last night at theToronto Centre for the Arts. This was an evening of motivation, inspiration andstudent activism in support of human rights. The competition comes at aparticularly crucial time as communities are faced with rising incidentsof antisemitism, racism and intolerance.

"Foranyone feeling down and out about the future of humanity, the Speaker's Idolprogram is a testament of the strength and values we can expect from youngCanadians well into the future," said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO ofFSWC. Ten finalists out of a total of 200 students were chosen by the SpeakersIdol Committee to reflect upon Simon Wiesenthal's famous quote, "For evilto flourish it simply requires good men and good women to do nothing."

Afterperforming their speeches in front of a sold-out audience and a panel ofjudges, the top three students from both the Grade 6-8 and Grade 9-12categories were chosen.

Highlightsfrom our first-place winners’ speeches:

"There cannot be individual definitions of good… Tochange the world, individuals first must strive for a universal definition ofgood as a standard relevant to all people." – 15-year-old first-placewinner in the Grade 9-12 category

“We must stop injustice as soon as we see it… If we don’t,evil will flourish because evil is contagious, but so is positive action.” – 13-year-oldfirst-place winner in the Grade 6-8 category

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To arrange interviews with our spokespeople or for moreinformation about the event, please contact:

Media Contacts

Avital Borisovsky 

Communications Associate   

416.864.9735 x 29 

aborisovsky@fswc.ca

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Atara Cadesky 

Communications Associate 

416.864.9735 x 30 

acadesky@fswc.ca

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC)is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and500,000+ peripherally.  FSWC is committed to countering racism andantisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice andCanadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programsincluding workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Toleranceand the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with theSimon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organizationheadquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built twoMuseums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO atthe United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the LatinAmerican Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca.