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What’s New at the
International School for Holocaust Studies?
1. European Department
The European Department continues its work with seminars for European educators at the International School for Holocaust Studies. This past
winter, 2007, we welcomed the first Dutch seminar to visit Yad Vashem in 10 years. The seminar was a great success the participants where very
impressed with Yad Vashem as a Holocaust institution and were inspired to set up several holocaust education projects in Holland with other
organization. The new outlook they gained through the different programs offered during the seminar has made them view the Israeli reality
with a new understanding. A surprising but pleasant addition was the Dutch media’s wide coverage of the seminar’s visit and its contents.
Among the participants were six Muslim teachers who found the seminar highly important.
The 3rd Annual ICHEIC Forum boasted twenty-one representatives from eighteen countries including first-time attendees from Spain, and the
Netherlands. The participants represented our various counterparts in Europe, Directors of Holocaust Memorials and Museums, heads of Holocaust
Education Organizations, and Education Ministry staff. The most impacting session of the Forum was a panel of Holocaust Survivors.
In March 2008 we held the very first seminar from Serbia, the 21 participants included representatives from different government ministries.
This seminar was organized in cooperation with the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The participants were very impressed with Yad Vashem,
it’s campus and programs and were deeply affected by the witness testimony. This successful cooperation has led to future plans.
April started off our summer with a string of successful seminars from Russia, Belgium, Poland and Britain. For the Russian seminar of teachers,
meeting with students and teachers, at the Rene Cassin High School, was deeply moving and enlightening. The Belgian seminar was unique in
that its 100 participants were made up of teachers and youth. They were very interested in the discussion about Holocaust denial and the
variety of ways that Yad Vashem looks at the Holocaust and the issues surrounding it. During their visit the participants toured the country
and met with Israelis, these encounters offered them a different and more positive view than the one offered by the media in their country.
All four seminars noted that the most significant part of their visit was the meeting with survivors.
The European Department looks forward to welcoming six seminars in May, amongst them the German, Northrhine-Westfalia, graduates seminar.
2. Department for International Seminars in English and the Jewish World
The 6th International Conference on Holocaust Education
The 6th International Conference on Holocaust Education – Teaching the Shoah: Fighting Racism and Prejudice has attracted people from 40 countries
around the world. We expect 700 participants to attend this conference, many of them thanks to the generosity of the Adelson Family Charitable
Foundation and the Asper Foundation. The participants represent Holocaust museums and organizations as well as day schools, public schools, and
community organizations.
The plenary sessions of the conference will reflect the importance of Holocaust education and its unique role as a leader in the fight against racism
and prejudice worldwide.
The plenary speakers will discuss the historical roots of racism in Nazi Germany, teaching the Holocaust in a multicultural society, and the legacy
of the survivors in the 21st century. Internationally renowned artist Samuel Bak Professor Omer Bartov of Brown University, Dr. William Meinecke
from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Honorable Daniel Rafecas from South America, and Professor Bodo von Borries from The
Frei University in Germany, are some of the scholars who will address the plenary sessions.
Graduates of Yad Vashem seminars and educators from around the world will present the afternoon workshops. These are interactive,
educational presentations based on the individual day’s themes and the presenters’ experiences witht the topic in the classroom. These
workshops will give the attendees an invaluable opportunity to learn from their colleagues in the field and exchange ideas on the pedagogical
tools and dynamics currently in use around the globe.
For more information and registrations details please see the website: www.yadvashem.org.il
International Summer Seminar July13, 2008 – July 31, 2008
This summer, 40 participants from countries around the world will be participating in the International Summer Seminar. They represent a wide
spectrum of educators - schoolteachers, university professors, and Holocaust museum personnel. Most of the participants are not Jewish and for
the some this will be their first visit to Israel.
The international seminars in English are designed to address the interests and needs of academics, teachers, members of the clergy, museum
personnel, and community leaders. Participants routinely come from 10-15 countries and it is this diverse population that allows for an educational
experience that challenges the participants to look not only at their own pedagogical and cultural views but also those of the educators they
meet here
Summer Seminar for Jewish Educators July 28, 2008 – August 14, 2008
The Summer Seminar for Jewish Educators will be hosting 25 participants from around the globe. The seminar is designed to give teachers and
academics an intense learning experience focusing first and foremost on the history of the Shoah, but including a wide range of lectures and
activities in the areas of art, theology, literature, antisemitism, and Holocaust denial.
3. International Projects
The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the
Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe have recently designed "Addressing Contemporary Antisemitism: Why and How?
Guidelines for Educators" to help teachers address incidents of contemporary antisemitism that they may encounter in their schools.
This resource includes methodological principles and strategies as well as a list of recommended websites.
For a copy of the guidelines in English,
click here.
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