German Leaders Meet with Facing History and Ourselves
On Friday, February 20, members of the International Visitor Leadership Program, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State, met with Facing History and Ourselves San Francisco Regional Director Jack Weinstein, Senior Program Associate Milton Reynolds, and Program Associate Mark Davis in our Hayward office.
The visitors have been working on 'Countering Right-Wing Extremism: A Project for Germany.' Among the representatives from the Federal Republic of Germany were Mr. Sven Forkert, Coordinator against Extremism, City of Pirna; Mr. Axel Heidrich, Desk Officer, Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Ministry of Interior, Brandenburg State; and Mr. Jochen Hollmann, Head, State Security Police of the State Criminal Police, Saxony-Anhalt. Ms. Irmgard Smadi and Ms. Erika Konuk were seminar interpreters.
The three-week project's main objective was for the participants to learn about U.S. efforts to neutralize right-wing extremist activity. Forkert, Heidrich, and Hollmann wanted to gain first-hand experience about fighting politically motivated crimes. Meeting with Facing History and Ourselves staff, the delegation shared their further aim of promoting democracy, multiculturalism, and reducing right-wing extremism.
The delegation learned that the work of Facing History and Ourselves is based on the need to teach civic responsibility, tolerance, and social action to young people. Further, they were keen to learn more about United States schools, teachers, and students, and that young people in this country are able and willing to think about tough moral and ethical dilemmas in surprisingly sophisticated ways.
Via a multimedia presentation, Jack Weinstein, Facing History's San Francisco Bay Area office director, showed the German visitors how our materials and our approach help students with a wide range of abilities and learning styles understand that their choices and actions matter. He also shared that through our intensive and dedicated follow-up services, we provide teachers with the tools they need to educate students so that they can act on their knowledge.
In addition to meeting with local Facing History and Ourselves staff, the group met with federal authorities, local police, and, according to the delegates, ‘citizens everywhere who are committed to democratic means, tolerance, inclusiveness, and justice.'
