The workshop, entitled ?A New Generation of Learning: Holocaust Education and the Internet,? will bring together participants engaged in Holocaust education from across Europe to discuss the educational and social implications of placing video testimony and other materials related to sensitive subjects on the Internet.
?The life stories of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses are a legacy for all humanity, which is why the Institute must always seek to broaden access to the Visual History Archive,? said USC Shoah Foundation Institute Executive Director Stephen Smith. ?Access via the Internet is essential to worldwide dissemination of the testimonies; but it must be undertaken with consideration of our responsibilities not only to those who gave testimony, but also to the young people who will interface with content of a difficult nature. The workshop at Central European University will provide an opportunity for the Institute and its colleagues in Europe to address these considerations together.?
?The Institute has made it a priority to support the development of testimony-based educational materials for use in countries where the testimonies originated,? said Andrea Szőnyi, USC Shoah Foundation Institute Regional Consultant in Hungary. ?Working with non-governmental organizations and government entities, we are introducing educators in numerous European countries to the testimonies, and providing them with the training and support they need to craft meaningful lessons for their students. I hope the workshop at Central European University will open up dialogue about developing such materials specifically for the Internet.?
The USC Shoah Foundation Institute has collected and preserved the video testimonies of nearly 52,000 Holocaust survivors and other witnesses in its Visual History Archive (VHA), which is accessible at 26 universities and other institutions across the world. As one of three sites in Europe with access to the archive, Central European University is ideally situated to host the workshop for the Institute?s colleagues in the region.
Source: Múlt-kor / CEU
