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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Gaining Allies in the Fight Against Hate

From antisemitism to Holocaust survivor testimony and genocide to equity lessons in the classroom, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies has delivered a variety of virtual programs in a number of different professional settings this month.

It is heartening to see diversity, equity and inclusion spaces opening up to include discussions on antisemitism and the Holocaust. Hundreds of Canadians from different professional fields have had the opportunity to expand their understanding this month while engaging in thought-provoking discussions about hate and intolerance in Canada. Most importantly, they are walking away with tangible steps that they can take be allies in the fight against hate.  

Some feedback has included:

Thank you for such an informative and eye-opening presentation!!

Thanks so much for the session yesterday! The program was so valuable and informative for my classroom.

Thank you so much for leading the "Antisemitism: Then and Now" workshop. It was very well received by the department! It was a really good presentation with many excellent examples to identify antisemitism.

Speaker's Idol a Tremendous Success!

The Speaker's Idol 2022 finalists were, once again, an exceptional group of young people with human rights on their minds!

Congratulations to all of the finalists! Out of 254 entries, this year's finalists placed as follows:

Grades 6-8:
1st Place: Erica Li, Grade 8, Ontario
2nd Place: Jaeda White, Grade 8, Newfoundland and Labrador
3rd Place: Isla Mason, Grade 7, Ontario
4th Place: Ethan Luo, Grade 6, Ontario
5th Place: Emmanuel Adewale, Grade 7, Ontario
6th Place: Mahaara Bhimani, Grade 7, Ontario

Grades 9-12:
1st Place: Deema Abdel Hafeez, Grade 11, Ontario
2nd Place: Nevaeh Pine, Grade 10, Ontario
3rd Place: Faith Aborode, Grade 9, Ontario
4th Place: Crystal Zhu, Grade 11, Ontario
5th Place: Sofia Rathjen, Grade 9, Alberta
6th Place: Johnna Pike, Grade 12, Newfoundland and Labrador

If you didn't have a chance to watch the live program, you can watch the recording below at your convenience.

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Tour for Humanity: Notes from the Road

After a nearly two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are thrilled that the Tour for Humanity, FSWC's mobile human rights education centre, is back and booked to full capacity. Since February, we have reached students across southern Ontario. Teachers and students alike are thrilled to have the bus back at their schools again and have been more than eager to participate in the workshops.

We have had meaningful conversations about the impact of the swastika, with one class in North York sharing their experiences of seeing the symbol in their neighbourhood and even on school property. The class was very quick to point out why this was so problematic and how we could collectively combat rising antisemitism.

World events often make their way into the lessons as well, with classes discussing rising hate crimes and online hate and misinformation.

School boards are taking note, with multiple GTA area schools and beyond reserving blocks of dates for the new 2022-2023 school year to bring Tour for Humanity to their schools and communities.

Learn more about Tour for Humanity

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Donate to support our educational programs

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