Institute senior staff among delegates from 28 member states

USC Shoah Foundation Institute Executive Director Stephen D. Smith, Managing Director Kim Simon, and Director of Programs Kori Street were in Belgium this week for the year's first plenary gathering of the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (ITF).

La 51ème édition du Concours national de la Résistance et de la Déportation avait retenu pour l’année scolaire 2011-2012 le thème suivant : “Résister dans les camps nazis”. Un groupe de huit élèves de 3ème du collège de Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine) a choisi de traiter ce thème à travers un projet audiovisuel portant sur la révolte des Sonderkommandos d’Auschwitz-Birkenau le 7 octobre 1944. Ce travail s’est appuyé sur les récits de onze témoins des événements, récits issus de la collection de témoignages du Shoah Foundation Institute.

On June 23, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) named IWitness, the Institute’s new online resource for teachers and students, one of the “top 25 Internet sites for enhancing learning and curriculum development” for school librarians and teachers.

Award-winning blog Free Technology for Teachers featured the Shoah Foundation Institute's new online educational resource, IWitness, citing its archive of videos, interactive activities, and teacher-moderation tools.

As a part of Yad Vashem's 8th International Conference on Holocaust Education taking place in Jerusalem, Martin Šmok, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's Senior International Program Consultant, will present the IWitness educational platform on June 20, 2012.

The University of Haifa has become the first university in Israel with access to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s Visual History Archive, a searchable repository of nearly 52,000 video interviews with Holocaust survivors and other witnesses.

Are you an educator? What question would you like to see incorporated into an IWitness activity? Share your voice.

On June 6, Steven Spielberg, Founder of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, presented Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, with the Institute’s highest honor, the Ambassador for Humanity Award. Iger was honored at the Institute’s annual gala, where he was recognized for his support of the Institute’s work, his longtime philanthropy, and his leadership role in corporate citizenship. The gala presenting sponsor was jcpenny. Jimmy Kimmel hosted, and Mary J. Blige gave a special musical performance.