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Toronto (November 5, 2020) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is thrilled to be partnering with ShadowLight to advance Holocaust education in Canada and the shared goal to empower students to stand against hate and make a positive difference in the world.

The two-year partnership will include FSWC supporting program development for ShadowLight’s immersive and innovative cattle car exhibit to help reach audiences that include students on college and university campuses as well as working together to develop motivational leadership trainings for those spaces.

“We are excited to begin this new partnership to further advance Holocaust and genocide education and reach more young people through this transformational exhibit that helps hit home the important lessons of the Holocaust,” said Michael Levitt, FSWC president and CEO. “With antisemitism on the rise and the Jewish community remaining the most-targeted group when it comes to hate crimes in Canada, it is clear that Holocaust education is a necessity in the fight against and prevention of antisemitism and hate in communities across the country. We are really looking forward to working with Jordana Lebowitz and her fabulous team.”

"ShadowLight leaders are thrilled to collaborate with such a foundational organization in our community. Personally, I am moved by this opportunity since the Simon Wiesenthal Center has been deeply inspiring to me along my journey," said Jordana Lebowitz, ShadowLight founder and executive director. "As two organizations dedicated to ensuring the messages of the Holocaust are absorbed by generations to come, together, at this defining point in history we will continue to innovate Holocaust education. I firmly believe that the next generation of young people needs the next generation of Holocaust education and there is no one we would rather work with to achieve this crucial task than the FSWC. " 

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a leading Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It is the winner of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation Best Practices Award. FSWC directly impacts over 100,000people each year and 500,000+ peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Compassion to Action, Speakers Idol, Spirit of Hope Benefit, National Policy Conference on Holocaust Education and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO,OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca.

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ShadowLight was created by young leaders and students, for young leaders and students. It originated in 2015 at the University of Guelph campus where a team of students brought a replica cattle car to campus to spread Holocaust awareness and advocate for current injustices. The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness immersive, multimedia, 360-degree exhibit was launched at the Toronto Railway Museum,  has been visited by over 5,000 people, featured on the national news and is embarking on its tour across the country. It is the first of its kind, dedicated to transforming and empowering students through a peer-to-peer framework and ensuring that the passionate leaders in all of us take the memory forward.