Thank you to all who attended this year’s Barbara G. Arfa Professional Development Conference.
The Education Department of the American Society for Yad Vashem is pleased to announce its Nineteenth Professional Development Conference on Holocaust education, scheduled for Sunday, March 19, 2017. Our theme this year is “Documentation, Accountability and Heroism: learning from the past to enhance our future – role models for our children.” This year’s Conference is, once again, co-sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Social Studies of the United Federation of Teachers (ATSS/UFT) and the Manhattanville College School of Education. Participants who attend and complete the program will receive a certificate for In-Service credit. We are also grateful to the generosity of the Barbara Gutfreund Arfa Endowment Fund for Holocaust Education that generously supports this program.
We are honored to have Mary Jean Eisenhower, CEO of People to People International as our keynote speaker. People to People is an organization envisioned years ago by Ms. Eisenhower’s grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, to promote peaceful relations between nations and understanding and mutual respect between individuals. Mary Eisenhower will discuss her mission to empower educators to apply the lessons of the Holocaust and the role her grandfather played to make sure this horrific chapter in history does not repeat itself. We will also hear from David Silberklang, Senior historian at Yad Vashem, whose remarks will shed light on the important subject of documentation and accountability and its impact on the future of Holocaust education and remembrance. Our Conference will be further enhanced through workshops led by other master educators in the field of Holocaust Education. These educators will share their strategies and resources and explore different ways of discussing the Holocaust and making this subject more relevant and meaningful for students.
Our first Conference was held in 1999. With each yearly program, we have moved closer toward our collective goal of empowering educators with an intellectually enriching and educationally challenging experience so that educators are better equipped to transmit the lessons of the Holocaust to their students. Our workshops, lectures, and resources all impart these messages. As an institution, Yad Vashem is a symbol of both destruction and rebirth. Through education, these parallel messages are conveyed to the community at large.
Your participation is more important than ever. You will find a flyer for this year’s event below. Your help in informing your colleagues and peers about our Conference will further help make this program a great success. Advanced registration is required.
Marlene W. Yahalom, PhD
Director of Education
With any questions, contact Marlene W. Yahalom, PhD. by email or telephone at (212) 220-4304.
