FEBRUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER

A new year brings growth and new ideas. At The Foundation for Genocide Education, growth begins by remembering the roots of our mission - ensuring that the history of genocide is taught to every student across Canada.

Read on for updates on our programs, and exciting news on upcoming events!

Support our programs

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Hear Regina's story

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IN THE NEWS

In newspaper articles and radio interviews, the FGE responded to questions on issues of the importance of Holocaust remembrance and education. Read and listen:

'As knowledge about the Holocaust wanes, antisemitism flourishes' - Montreal Gazette

'Entrevue avec Heidi Berger' - Radio Canada

'Teaching the Holocaust in Schools' - CJAD Radio

Barbara Cieply speaks to students at Chateauguay Valley Regional High

FGE School Presentation member Barbara Cieply shared the story of her late mother, survivor Regina Kleinberg Cieply to students at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School in Ormstown, Quebec. As a young girl in Poland, Regina escaped the Warsaw ghetto, hiding with strangers and assuming various non-Jewish identities to save her life. Learn more about our school presentation program below.

EMSB Webinar on Holocaust Remembrance

On January 27, we were honored to participate in the English Montreal School Board's webinar to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, part of the EMSB Holocaust Education Program. FGE President Heidi Berger spoke as part of a virtual panel discussion that was livestreamed into classrooms across Montreal.

'Studying Genocide' guide - Update

Soon available in English!

The Foundation for Genocide Education was the driving force behind the new pedagogical guide 'Studying Genocide '. Created by professors from UQTR and the U de Sherbrooke, and funded by the Quebec Education Ministry, it is currently available online in French, and will be launched in English in April. The guide features histories of nine 20th century genocides, lesson plans, and instructional and survivor testimonial videos produced by the FGE.

Training workshops on using the guide will be offered in the fall of 2023 . Teachers and students have given an A+ to the guide in feedback surveys, telling us that they feel more empowered to speak out against hate and intolerance.

What teachers have to say

Our growing school presentation program

In the past year, we have grown our school presentation program team from 7 to 10 members. Our presenters are survivors or children of survivors of the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, and the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. We are currently working on presentations with members of First Nations communities, to empower them to share the impact of genocide on them and their families. We provide background material to teachers, as well as follow-up surveys for students.

Demand for our presentations from high schools has skyrocketed. We have given nine presentations around the province this school year, attended by over 1,500 students, with eighteen more invitations to schools confirmed. The impact on students of hearing and watching a story of a survivor is powerful.

See what students have to say

In the National Assembly

Declaration in the National Assembly for Genocide Prevention Day

On December 9, to commemorate the International Day of Genocide Prevention, a declaration was read in the National Assembly by MNA Valérie Schmaltz (Vimont). She saluted the work of The Foundation for Genocide Education and its president Heidi Berger, as well as partner organization The Armenian National Committee of Quebec, in collaborating with the Education Ministry on the creation of the new guide on teaching about genocide.

-> Watch

Upcoming Events

COMING IN APRIL:

Webinar: The Trauma of Genocide

Join filmmaker David Peck as he discusses his new film, 'Broken Courage', a documentary about memory, history and reconciliation during the Cambodian genocide. It features the story of Suon Rottana, who was a teenage soldier with the Cambodian army, a prisoner of war and a landmine amputee. A panel discussion with genocide survivors and children of survivors, hosted by former broadcaster and author Tommy Schnurmacher, will explore the impact genocide has on survivors and their children and grandchildren.

Watch the trailer

The fight against hate and intolerance must begin in the classroom.

To book a presentation for your school, please contact us.

Visit our website at gened.org