'I Can't Wait till September': Educators from Across the Globe Gather for International Seminar

Last month, Facing History and Ourselves’ London office hosted its annual seminar for educators from across the globe. Now in its sixth year, the five-day international seminar, funded by the Safra Foundation and with space and food donated by Deutsche Bank, was oversubscribed. Thirty-eight attendees came from as near as England and as far away as Northern Ireland, South Africa, Israel, Poland, Austria, Mexico, and Rwanda. Below, Karen Murphy, Facing History’s International Director, shares her thoughts.

The international seminar took place last month in London, and I'm still rolling around in my mind the discussions we had. We hosted 38 participants from around the world. Half came from London and half came from Northern Ireland, South Africa, Israel, Poland, Austria, Mexico and Rwanda. The international seminar, which focused on Facing History’s “Holocaust and Human Behavior” teaching model, is incredibly interesting and unique because of the participants and the contexts from which they come. Because so many of them live in divided societies or countries emerging from mass violence, authoritarianism, or oppression, the challenges they face as educators and the connections they make to their own experiences are fresh, sometimes raw.

This year's seminar began in the midst of major world events: the tragic attacks in Norway, the crisis of the Euro, famine in Somalia, the debt ceiling debates in the United States, the phone hacking scandal in the UK, and violence in Syria. While our seminar focused on history and how to teach it, the current climate and suppression of those with political and cultural differences echoed in our study of the themes of the past.

Our discussions were enriched by visits from scholars like Dr. Binna Kandola - an organizational psychologist and Facing History board member, who talked about unconscious bias -and Tim Cole, a professor at the University of Bristol who discussed the ghettos in Hungary during World War II.

We were also fortunate to hear from Holocaust survivor Ziggi Shipper. Mr. Shipper is over 80, but you can see in him the 14-year-old Polish boy who fought to stay alive while imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Mr. Shipper shared his story - about the loss of his family, how he moved to England, his relief upon meeting fellow survivors who had also fled there, and the birth of his daughters. He also talked about the shame he carried with him as a result of his experiences. His feelings and memories are a constant reminder that surviving is an act of survival itself.

While the week was filled with tough testimonies, readings and weighty discussions, there was also time for the group to come together for some fun: tea breaks, lunchtime conversations, and a tour of East London led by two of the seminar’s British participants. For some it was the first time in such a big city, others had never been on an underground train.

Each year, the seminar’s final day is a touching one – and this year was no exception. The goodbyes often get tearful as teachers and administrators return home following a profound week of learning and discovery. The seminar brings together diverse people with unique histories, beliefs and experiences, and, as a group, they confront a deep examination of genocide and the human behavior that animates it, the small steps that lead to exclusion and persecution, and the possibilities for prevention. Although the experience is often demanding, they manage to stay in the room together despite differences. As a result they are challenged by each other and leave charged with new ideas on how to teach this difficult unit to their students.

It was clear the teachers were itching to turn their experiences into practice inside the classroom. As one English teacher who had only just finished her current school year said, “I can’t wait until September!”

To learn more about the annual Facing History international seminar and the organization’s overseas work, click: here.