Today, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center's (FSWC) Education Department helped facilitate a very special presentation given at a public school in Newmarket in honour of their "Own it" campaign. This is a student-led initiative that began with the Ring of Peace: Inspire Learning, Inspire Action! initiative that was held by York Regionl District School Board  to show support for safe, inclusionary spaces free from discrimination and hate for all learners in the region. Students at this school were inspired to create the "Own It" campaign to combat bullying and low self-esteem through encouraging kids to celebrate what makes them unique, in other words to "own" it. They are creating a wall at the school of photos of students with a quote about what quality they celebrate about themselves. Today, a group of middle school students presented the campaign to the younger students at the school to get them excited and thinking about what qualities they should take pride in.  Maya Benaich, a  Grade 6 student and daughter of FSWC members spoke at the initial Ring of Peace ceremony in early November and really impressed today's organizing teacher and so she was invited to participate in today's presentation by speaking to the group about the need to stop racism and other forms of intolerance. Maya did an excellent job speaking and FSWC Educator Elena was very impressed with the way she connected the Jewish experience of antisemitism with broader ideas around inclusivity and racism within Canada's diverse communities. 

Tour for Humanity was also on the road, visiting the Grade 10 history classes (which FSWC has done every semester since early 2016).There were 6 classes on the bus spread over the day taking part in the Global Perspectives workshop. The classes are all currently studying World War II in the curriculum, FSWC's material was an excellent fit.The classes were very interested in the topic, with multiple students asking insightful questions.  FSWC Educator Daniella discussed the 10 stages of genocide in relation to the Holocaust, spending significant time on Nazi propaganda posters. Daniella discussed how such posters infused antisemitism into every aspect of daily life and how children were taught at a young age to fear the Jewish people. Feedback from teachers was very positive, with two teachers telling me that they look forward to our visit every semester. One of the teachers also said she is so thrilled that her students have the opportunity to come on the bus and participate in the workshops. One of the school’s Vice Principals sat in on part of a workshop and was also very impressed with everything.

FSWC Director of Education Melissa was in Regina, Saskatchewan today running teacher training with a group of Regina Catholic School District lead teachers The program was focused on incorporating authentic equity programming into the classroom curriculum.  Regina has an expanding population – this one school board has built 3 new schools in the last year.  Their student body has almost doubled over the past 5 years.  Regina, and Saskatchewan in general, has been marketing to the immigrant and refugee populations that are arriving in Canada.  They also have numerous groups that have been sponsoring families to come to Saskatchewan.  As lead teachers, the hope is that they will return and train other staff about the topics we discussed today.  After explaining who Simon Wiesenthal was and introducing them to FSWC, we moved through a series of activities that addressed different forms of hate in Canada.  Everyone actively participated in the program, offering thoughts, ideas and sharing stories of their own equity experiences.  One of the most rewarding parts of the day was learning from the superintendent that many of the teachers who attended today’s session have already approached her asking what the next steps are – they left inspired to put what we discussed into action. 

Melissa also spent close to 2 hours this evening with more than 50 community members, parents, teachers and school board members.  Once again she presented about the importance of including equity in students’ lives, but with a split focus on the classroom and in the home.  Several of the teachers who attended this afternoon’s session showed up again this evening with their families.  Several guests approached Melissa after the program to ask about specific ideas that they can use to engage their children in learning about human rights and giving back to community.