FSWC’s Tour for Humanity Visits Ottawa to Share Important Lessons with MPs and Students

March 9, 2023

Community Update

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The Tour for Humanity, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center's mobile human rights education centre, is in Ottawa this week, visiting local schools and spending a day on Parliament Hill. The five-day stop in the nation’s capital marks the start of the bus's journey through eastern Canada over the coming months.

During yesterday's visit to Parliament Hill, MPs from all parties entered the Tour for Humanity’s specially-equipped classroom to learn about this important part of FSWC’s education work. They saw first-hand how this innovative vehicle helps our educators teach students in Ontario and across the country about the Holocaust, genocide and human rights. We thank MPs Julie Dabrusin (Liberal), Randall Garrison (NDP), Melissa Lantsman (Conservative) and Mario Simard (Bloc) for co-hosting this special visit, all MPs who attended and our friends at CIJA who lent a hand.

This week, students at four schools in Ottawa have been participating in Tour for Humanity workshops on the history and lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights issues in Canada. These visits have been generously sponsored by Holocaust survivor David Shentow's family.

On Tuesday, the bus was at Sir Robert Borden High School where students in grades 7-12 took part in a series of workshops. This visit served as an educational response to a recent antisemitic incident at the school.

Local media devoted coverage to the Ottawa initiative. Tour for Humanity Director Daniella Lurion and FSWC senior educator Elena Kingsbury discussed the Tour for Humanity with CityNews 101.1 and CBC's Ottawa Morning and the important role it plays in educating students and inspiring them to be upstanders against hate. Listen to the interviews below.

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Since its launch in 2013, the Tour for Humanity has visited more than 900 schools across Ontario and other provinces – including Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec – and provided powerful lessons to more than 175,000 students, educators and community members.

The bus continues its visit to Ottawa over the next two days and will return there later this month before heading further east to visit schools in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

To bring the Tour for Humanity to your school, workplace or community, contact us today at tourforhumanity@fswc.ca.