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Here's what the Education Department at Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) has been up to over the last month.

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Tour for Humanity Launches East Coast Visit

Tour for Humanity (T4H) began its east coast tour this past month, with stops in Amherstview, Elgin, Brockville and Cornwall, Ontario before crossing the border into Quebec and New Brunswick! T4H was well-received at all of the schools, but one in particular gave an extra-warm reception as it was the first school cancelled when the pandemic hit in 2020. The staff and students at Rideau District High School in Elgin, Ontario have been anxious to re-schedule the program and were so excited to finally see the bus roll up into their school's parking lot.

As we travel to these small towns and cities, we are hearing a common message from principals and teachers alike: the programs we offer on T4H are so necessary due to the rise of antisemitism, as well as other forms of hate, in their schools and broader communities. As the population of these smaller communities grows rapidly over a short period of time, schools are being left to address the cultural rift that appears between “old” and “new” without having the tools necessary to do so. Many have expressed they felt the T4H programming was helping to address this very real problem they are facing.

T4H ended April with a week in New Brunswick, visiting Fredericton, Oromocto, Grand-Sault and Plaster Rock. The bus is continuing to visit schools in the province over the next two weeks before heading to Nova Scotia.

A former head of the Atlantic Jewish Council visited T4H at one of the schools and shared that the experience was outstanding, with "students respectful and engaged, answering many questions. It definitely was very encompassing and moving." He has already started the conversation about T4H returning east again in the fall.

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Tour for Humanity in the News

Click to View CTV News Atlantic Coverage
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It's that time of year again! FSWC's public-speaking competition, Speaker's Idol, is ready to showcase twelve outstanding young people from across Canada, as they reflect on Simon Wiesenthal's quote, "I believe that there is no other solution than to constantly engage with the past and to learn from it," and relate it to our most pressing human rights issues today.  
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Congratulations to the following finalists:
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Elementary

• Amara, Grade 8, Ontario
• Avira, Grade 8, Ontario
• Isla, Grade 8, Ontario
• Karla, Grade 8, Ontario
• Kiva, Grade 6, Quebec
• Vaishnavi, Grade 8, British Columbia

Secondary

• Clara, Grade 10, Ontario
• Erica, Grade 9, Ontario
• Fayhaa, Grade 10, British Columbia
• Nevaeh, Grade 11, Ontario
• Ren Ran, Grade 10, Ontario
• Sonya, Grade 11, Ontario

Join us on May 10th at 1 p.m. EDT for this live, virtual program!

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