Educators Institute for Human Rights

EIHR Board President, John Heffernan, has a long history working and reporting on the Sudan. John and his colleague, Eric Friedman published this article in The Hill about the ongoing atrocities in Sudan.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4839372-darfur-genocide-famine-sudan/

The world can’t keep ignoring the resurging genocide in Darfur It comes amid Sudan’s civil war, where the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary organization it is battling both use food as a weapon of war.

On this date in 2017, renewed attacks against the Rohingya people of Myanmar lead to declarations that genocide has occurred. The Rohingya continue to seek refuge in other countries and continue to be murdered.
Learn more here, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/rohingya-crisis -title-0-9


Photo credit: UN Women/Allison Joyce
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. March 2018.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/unwomen/42674243844

August 23 International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is meant to “inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples”
Learn more here, https://www.unesco.org/en/days/slave-trade-remembrance

August 22 is the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief recognizing the importance of providing victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief and members of their families with appropriate support and assistance in accordance with the law.
Learn more here, https://www.un.org/en/observances/religious-based-violence-victims-day

After a bomb attack on 19 August 2003, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).
Each year, WHD focuses on a theme, bringing together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers.
Learn more here, https://www.un.org/en/observances/humanitarian-day

August 12 is International Youth Day. The Programme encourages youth around the world to organize activities to raise awareness about the situation of youth in their country. The theme of International Youth Day 2024 is "From Clicks To Progress: Youth Digital Pathways For Sustainable Development"
Learn more here; https://social.desa.un.org/issues/youth/international-youth-day-main

On August 11, 1904 German General Lothar von Trotha encircled the Herero in Namibia during the Battle of Waterberg. The soldiers were ordered to take no prisoners and poisoned the wells of the Herero. Several thousand died as a result beginning the genocide of the Herero.
Learn more here; https://museeholocauste.ca/en/resources-training/herero-genocide-namibia/

Today, August 3, marks the 10th anniversary of the genocide of the Yazidi people. There are still women and children being held captive today. Please follow our colleagues, Nadia's Initiative : مبادرة نادية مراد
Nadia Murad was a captive and reflects on her experience ten years later.
https://www.nadiasinitiative.org/news/nadia-murad-statement-on-10th-anniversary-of-yazidi-genocide
Check out their website for more information and how you can be involved in advocating for the Yazidi.

Nadia Murad’s Statement on the 10th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide — Nadia's Initiative “The resilience of survivors must be met with resolve from the international community.”

Kelley Szany, Senior Vice-President of Education and Exhibitions for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center (IHMEC) and Vice-President of the EIHR board of directors, delivered the opening keynote address for day two of the IAGS Conference. Kelley spoke about IHMEC’s evolution through the years, and emphasized the critical importance of including historic and contemporary genocides in addition to the Holocaust in exhibitions and educational initiatives. Throughout the day we heard from speakers from all over the globe who discussed innovative pedagogical approaches regarding teaching about genocide.
Closing the program was Dr. Gregory Stanton, Chair of the Alliance Against Genocide who illuminated on the continued urgency for genocide prevention in this century.
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
International Association of Genocide Scholars
Alliance Against Genocide

The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) in partnership with Educators’ Institute for Human Rights (EIHR) and the Alliance Against Genocide launced a virtual conference today convening educators from around the world with 428 participants who will meet from July 25 - 26. Andy Lawrence, a teacher from the Hampton School in Middlesex, England, opened the event. He spoke about student driven efforts to examine historical genocide by conducting research, examining the local relevance of the Holocaust and other genocides, and how to teach their peers about genocide. Ultimately, these students find ways to take action. They meet with national government officials annually to discuss and create awareness about genocide in hopes of creating change.
The day also included panels with Dr. Gregory Stanton, Dr. Lorna Waddington, Dr. Henry Theriault, Dr. Tawheed Noor, Dr. Annie Rappeport and Umme Wara. Guest Speaker, Dr. Rounaq Jahan, talked about the challenges of teaching genocide. Pedagogical sessions included Cassidy Ernst, George Dalbo, Dr. Mark Gudgel, Sara Cohan, Mary Johnson, Phyllis Zimbler Miller, Amanda Greenbacker Mitchell, Dr. Alma Zero, Hillary Levine, Tosha Tilotson, Sara Snyder and Bekir Hodzic.

Media literacy is essential to combat misinformation and disinformation. News Literacy Project has resources to aid in determining credible information.
Download the infographic here, https://bit.ly/IsItLegitNLP
Check out their website for additional resources, https://newslit.org/

Registration just passed the 250 mark so we have raised the attendance limit! If you had any issues or have not signed up yet, there is still time to register!
IAGS Virtual Conference: Teaching About Genocide on Thursday, July 25 and Friday, July 26.

https://eihr.org/eihr-news/iags-virtual-conference-teaching-about-genocide

IAGS Free Virtual Conference Registration Academics, teachers, practitioners, students, and anyone committed to educating future generations about the importance of understanding and preventing genocide are encouraged to attend.

Thomas Gardner and Alma Žero presented ‘Exploring sound within the framework of trauma-informed practice’ an ongoing project to integrate sound into the educational framework being developed by the Educators' Institute for Human Rights (EIHR) and the VII Foundation: The Imagine Project. The Imagine educational curriculum helps to address complex and contested issues of peace in post-conflict societies, and this talk presented Alma and Thomas’s recent work with MA Sound Arts students imagining the place of sound in the curriculum.
The project is explorative in nature and makes links between the educational framework being developed by EIHR, currently using text and image, and new approaches to sound emerging from sound-art practices. The intention is to identify ways in which sound can support, augment or bring new approaches to the curriculum, and also to expand the interdisciplinary and collaborative understanding of testimony and sound in order to generate new forms of artistic and educational practice.
The 2024 'Why Remember' conference addresses the complex and contested questions that face post-conflict societies. The conference is supported by London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, The Manhattan College Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center, and the Institute for the Research of War Crimes at the University of Sarajevo.

International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Alliance Against Genocide, and EIHR invite you to attend a Virtual Conference: Teaching About Genocide on Thursday, July 25 and Friday, July 26.
The opening keynote speaker is Andy Lawrence from the Hampton School in Middlesex UK who teaches history and focuses on the Holocaust and other genocides. Mr. Lawrence was just recently awarded the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). Read more about his recognition and work here https://hamptonschool.org.uk/2022/06/mr-lawrence-mbe/

To register for the conference please use this link; https://ow.ly/VOEa50SAyav

July 11 marks the first International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.
Twenty-nine years ago, over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were systematically murdered, and their remains were buried in mass graves.
This was the largest massacre in Europe since the Holocaust.
Learn more here; https://www.un.org/en/observances/srebrenica-genocide-commemoration-day

International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica | United Nations The International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica calls for special observances and activities in memory and honour of the victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, as well as appropriate education and public awareness-raising activities, towards preventing d...

On July 17, the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research will host an online exhibition focused on the writing of Yitskhok Rudashevski a 13 year old who lived in Vilnius, Lithuania. His diary can be found in the published work, Salvaged Pages edited by our colleague and board member, Alexandra Zapruder. You can find the exhibition, here https://museum.yivo.org/
Read more about the online exhibition and diary in this New York Times article, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/arts/jewish-teen-yitskhok-rudashevski-nazi.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k0.sg4_.STTxGoU3Sr7t&smid=url-share

A Jewish Teen’s Diary Recounts Pain and Resilience in a N**i Ghetto In an online exhibition, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research will explore the account of Yitskhok Rudashevski. He was 13 when the Germans took over Vilnius, Lithuania.

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964. This legislation prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. It was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
Learn more here: https://ow.ly/Bt8u50SiS0b.

On June 28 in 1969 began the Stonewall Uprising, a series of events between LGBTQ+ protesters and law enforecement which stretched over six days. "The rebellion (it was never a 'riot') lasted five inconsecutive nights (they were not 'riots')..." -STONEWALL Veterans' Association.
Learn more here: https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era

June is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June marks the moment in 1987 when the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into effect.
Learn more here: https://www.un.org/en/observances/torture-victims-day

On June 23, 1944 two delegates from the International Red Cross and one from the Danish Red Cross visited the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia. In order to disguise the conditions in the ghetto, gardens were planted, houses painted, and barracks renovated. The N**is staged social and cultural events for the visiting dignitaries. Once the visit was over, the Germans resumed deportations.
Learn more here: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/theresienstadt-red-cross-visit

Theresienstadt: Red Cross Visit Learn more about the Danish Red Cross visit to Theresienstadt and the N**i attempt to clean and hide the true conditions of the camp.

June 20 is World Refugee Day to honor refugees around the globe. Acknowledging the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.
Learn more here: https://www.unhcr.org/us/world-refugee-day

June 19 is Juneteenth. On this date in 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day.
Learn more here: https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth

Please read this article about Catholic bishops apologizing for the church’s role in running Indian boarding schools.

Catholic bishops apologize for church’s role operating Indian boarding schools In Friday vote, church leaders cite a “history of trauma” inflicted on Native Americans, including generations of children removed from their families to be forcibly assimilated.

“White Armband Day” takes place on 31 May, to remember the campaign of ethnic cleansing which took place in the town of Prijedor, northern Bosnia-Herzegovina. To mark this day, Remembering Srebrenica are encouraging individuals to wear white armbands for the day to highlight the dangers of discrimination and remembering the victims of the horrific crimes that took place.
Learn more here; https://srebrenica.org.uk/what-happened/history/white-armband-day

The Tulsa Race Massacre, also known as the Tulsa Race Riot or the Black Wall Street Massacre was a white supremacist terrorist massacre that took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. Learn more here; history.

1921 Tulsa Race Massacre - Tulsa Historical Society & Museum Following World War I, Tulsa was recognized nationally for its affluent African American community known as the Greenwood District. This thriving business district and surrounding residential area was referred to as “Black Wall Street.”

Day 3 of, The Future of Cambodia Without Genocide conference.
Prime Minister Hun Manet spoke at the conference about genocide education for the next generation. He stated the following ¨We must ensure that the teaching of history is appropriately integrated into the curricula of public and private schools. From junior high to university, teachers are joinging forces to spread genocide education in schools across the country.¨

Congratulations to our friend and colleague Aimable Mpayimana! We are so grateful for your decade of work at EIHR and your all your efforts in Rwanda.

An impactful day for EIHR staff member, Kelly Watson, who is participating in a conference in Cambodia.
Day 2 conference sessions dealt with the emotional and physical needs of genocide survivors in Cambodia. Breakout sessions dealt with justice after genocide, oral history and healthcare. The conference ended the day with a film screening of Don't Think I Have Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll.

EIHR International Education Coordinator, Kelly Watson, attends a three day conference in Cambodia entitled, The Future of Cambodia Without Genocide.