Note to Correspondents

Leaders in Holocaust Education to Speak at UN Professional Development Seminar

Helping teachers bring the lessons of the Holocaust to the classroom will be the focus of a day-long programme to be held by the United Nations Department of Public Information in partnership with world-renowned authorities in the field of Holocaust education, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on 2 May in Conference Room 6 of the North Lawn Building, at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Organized for teachers and students of education, the professional development programme titled, “Holocaust Education:  Tools and Techniques”, is presented by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme.

Leading educators will present effective methods and new technology for teaching the Holocaust as well as ways to promote critical thinking and respect for diversity among students.  The first of five interactive sessions will be led by Stephen Feinberg, an educator with the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation, who will introduce teachers to “IWitness,” an educational website that brings more than 1,300 testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides from the Institute’s Visual History Archive to secondary schools via engaging multimedia learning activities.  Karen Polak, a senior educator with the Anne Frank House in The Netherlands, will then lead a discussion on teaching about the experience of the Roma and Sinti during the Holocaust.

In the afternoon session, Sheryl Silver Ochayon, an educator and lawyer, will guide educators on teaching the Holocaust and other genocides through an extensive curriculum created by the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority.  Steven Luckert, Curator of the Permanent Exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will give a presentation on the power of propaganda and how the Nazi party used it to incite genocide.  And Tanya Odom, an educator with the Anti-Defamation League, will conclude the day’s discussions with a focus on how teachers can create an anti-bias learning environment.

Opening the event will be Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.  Ahmad Alhendawi, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, will share his views on education, and Kimberly Mann, Manager of the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, will moderate the day’s events.

By teaching about the underlying causes of the Holocaust and its lessons, teachers can help students to reflect on the consequences of hatred and discrimination, critically examine incidents that occur in their daily lives and understand better how to prevent racial and ethnic conflict today.

All guests must pre-register to take part in the event.  Doors open at 9 a.m. at the Visitors’ Entrance at First Avenue and 46^th Street in New York.  Photo identification will be required for security screening and seating is on a first-come basis.  To register, please r.s.v.p. to holocaustremembrance@un.org.  The event is also open to journalists.  For media accreditation, please call +1 212 963 6934 or visit www.un.org/en/media/accreditation/request.shtml.

Background

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme was established by General Assembly resolution 60/7 in 2006 to further education about and remembrance of the Holocaust to help prevent future acts of genocide.  Its multifaceted programme includes online and print educational products, seminars, exhibitions, a film series, special events and the worldwide observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust every year on 27 January.  Please visit:  www.un.org/holocaustremembrance.

USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education — is dedicated to making audiovisual interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, a compelling voice for education and action.  The Institute’s current collection of nearly 52,000 eyewitness testimonies contained within its Visual History Archive preserves history as told by the people who lived it and lived through it.  The Institute, housed at the University of Southern California within the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, works with partners around the world to advance scholarship and research, provide resources and online tools for educators, and to disseminate the testimonies for educational purposes.  Please visit:  sfi.usc.edu.

TheAnne Frank House is an independent organization entrusted with the care of the Secret Annex in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the place where Anne Frank went into hiding during the Second World War and where she wrote her diary.  It brings her life story to the attention of people worldwide to encourage them to reflect on the dangers of anti-Semitism, racismand discriminationand the importance of freedom, equal rights and democracy.  Please visit:  www.annefrank.org/en/Museum.

Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, established in 1953, is entrusted with documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period, preserving the memory and story of each of the 6 million victims, and imparting the legacy of the Holocaust for generations to come through its school, archives, library, museums, research and recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations.  Please visit:  www.yadvashem.org.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:  A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide and promote human dignity.  Federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanent place on the National Mall, and its far-reaching educational programmes and global impact are made possible by generous donors.  Please visit:  www.ushmm.org.

The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 “to stop defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all”.  The League fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all.  Its award-winning A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute provides anti-bias education and training with curriculums and materials available for pre-

kindergarten through twelfth grade students, university students, community groups, corporations, civic associations, religious organizations and law enforcement agencies.  Please visit www.adl.org.

Media Contact:  Kimberly Mann, Manager, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, e-mail:  mann@un.org; tel.: +1 212 963 6835.

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For information media • not an official record