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Insights from Dr. Doron Avraham,
Director of The ICHEIC Program for Holocaust Education in Europe at
Yad Vashem
Dr. Avraham, what is the ICHEIC
Program at Yad Vashem and what was the rationale behind its
establishment?
The ICHEIC Program is a special
project initiated and funded by ICHEIC, the International Committee
for Holocaust Era Insurance Claims Humanitarian Fund, which is
scheduled to continue for the next 9 years. We established the
Program in March 2005 to encourage Holocaust education throughout
Europe, to combat antisemitism, racism and xenophobia and to foster
human rights awareness through Holocaust education.
Why was the International School
for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem chosen to conduct this Program?
I would say that the expertise and
experience of staff at the International School was the basis for
the decision. Since 1993 our professional staff at the
International School has been working closely with educators both
from Israel and throughout the world and have garnered a large amount
of experience and expertise in the field of Holocaust education. In
addition, we have created a first class team of educators and
historians, and developed a wide range of educational curricula. The
International School was among the first to develop
interdisciplinary educational approaches to Holocaust studies and
its applications, such as through cinema, art, theatre, and
literature.
You explained the educational
activities of the school. In what way are the activities of the
ICHEIC Program unique?
Whereas in the past we conducted seminars specifically for the
purpose of training teachers to educate their students about the
Holocaust, we now aim to create a
network of European teachers who will serve as multiplicators of
Holocaust education. By becoming multiplicators, the teachers will go
on to disseminate the knowledge and pedagogical tools required for
teaching the Holocaust in their own communities. Through this
network, teachers from all over Europe will also be able to take
part in an exchange of ideas and share practical approaches. We then intend to create specific tools such as forums, a
newsletter, and international seminars to encourage teachers to share
their
experiences, problems and working methods.
What has been achieved in the first
year of the Program?
Thanks to the ICHEIC Program, in
the last year the International School for Holocaust Studies has
seen its educational activities double. In 2005 we coordinated an
unprecedented 19 seminars for an approximately 350 European educators. In
November alone we held seminars at Yad Vashem for educators from 6
different countries - including for the first time from the Czech
Republic - and a similar number of seminars in Europe. We have also
created a wide range of educational materials in more than 6
languages, and many of these resources are available on our website.
We are now encouraging local
initiatives by graduates of our seminars, such as local conferences,
the creation of teaching units, curricula, etc, and since the
establishment of the Program we have witnessed a marked increase in these
initiatives.
I would go as far as to say that
the ICHEIC Program has been the catalyst for expanding our use of
the Yad Vashem website as an educational tool. Today projects
created by our graduates and their students can be accessed through
our website. We are in the final stages of production of our first
ever e-learning course on the Holocaust in
Hungarian, and it will later be adapted into a number of other
languages. As mentioned, we are also in the process of creating an
online forum that will provide our graduates with a virtual meeting place
to exchange ideas and experiences.
In February 2006 we will hold the
first-ever ICHEIC International Forum with educational experts from all
over Europe. Participants will examine a wide range of topics
pertaining to Holocaust education, including the importance of
seminars both in Israel and in Europe as well as the production of
specific educational units for use in a variety of
European countries. An important aspect of the Forum will be our
work towards the creation of an active network of educators who
will contribute to the promotion of Holocaust education in Europe.
What has been the reaction of
Holocaust educators taking part in International School seminars?
We have received very positive
feedback from most of our seminar graduates who leave Yad Vashem feeling
highly motivated, expressing their interest to transmit
what they have learnt to those within their local communities.
Thank you for your time. We look
forward to hearing about the progress of the Program in future
editions of the magazine.
For a full description of the ICHEIC
Program – click here
Read more about the seminars in
What’s New in the School?
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