Educators Come to Deutsche Bank in London for Facing History

Educators from World’s Trouble Spots to Come to Deutsche Bank for
Facing History and Ourselves Seminar to Help Create a More Civil Society

In a world where the importance of developing informed, compassionate, active, global citizens is critical, Facing History and Ourselves provides educators with the content, the tools and the support to foster that development in their students. On 3-7 August 2009, Facing History will host its fifth annual international seminar for teachers. Educators from around the world will converge on a space given over by Deutsche Bank, London, to examine the aspects of human behaviour that lie behind the Holocaust and other examples of genocide and mass violence in the 20th century.

Half of the 37 seminar attendees will be from Rwanda, Cambodia, South Africa and Northern Ireland, with the rest coming from England. This will yield a particularly rich discussion in which participants make connections between genocide and the specific histories and circumstances of their own countries. These conversations can often be emotive and sensitive yet Facing History’s teaching methods enable very different perspectives to co-exist safely in the same space.

The seminar will take place at Deutsche Bank, 6 – 8 Bishopsgate, London, from 8:30am-4pm daily.

Says Karen Murphy, Director of International Programmes for Facing History, “By the end of the five days, educators will have learned about the complexities of major moments in world history and they will have experienced teaching methodologies that can help transform how students see the world. For educators from countries emerging from mass violence who are beginning to face their past, Facing History’s study of Holocaust and human behaviour allows participants to delve into this particular case study and also explore connections to their own lives..  It also models methodology for engagement and teaching about sensitive subjects.  Teachers also will have learnt how Facing History supports them as they implement these approaches in the classroom.”
 
She added, “Perhaps as importantly, they will have formed friendships with peers who have in some cases experienced the horrors of genocide and mass violence first hand. They will realize the importance of history, when taught with intellectual rigour, ethical reflection and emotional intelligence, to transform attitudes for the better.”