Born in Tunisia in 1940, Jacqueline Gmach left at the age of 18. Though her family was not directly in danger, the Nazi genocide remains deeply personal to her. She has devoted her career to educating people about its horrors as well as promoting the Jewish culture its executioners tried to obliterate. A scholar with degrees and credentials from institutions ranging from the Sorbonne in Paris to the University of Jerusalem and the University of Montreal, Gmach serves as project director for USC Shoah Foundation’s Testimonies of North Africa and the Middle East project.

Davis Wamonhi’s own students at Kagarama Secondary School in Kigali, Rwanda, inspired him to use IWitness in his classroom.Wamonhi’s history students were invited to attend an IWitness pilot at Gisozi Genocide Memorial, where they were introduced to learning history through video testimonies through USC Shoah Foundation’s interactive educational website.

Thursday marked the grand opening of the Blavatnik Archive Foundation's exhibit about Soviet Jewish soldiers during World War II presented by USC Shoah Foundation and USC Doheny Library.

Survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and youth activist Yannick Tona will speak on his experiences during the genocide and relate them to concerns of the modern day, including the need for continued genocide education and for social responsibility in the media.   ASC 207 (Annenberg Geoffrey Cowan Forum), 6:30 – 7:30pm, with a reception to follow.

The new multimedia Ukrainian teacher’s guide Where Do Human Rights Begin: Lessons of History and Contemporary Approaches is now available as an online resource on the USC Shoah Foundation website.

A commemorative vigil to the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, titled and structured around the three central themes of the Kwibuka20 movement. Testimony transcripts will be read aloud, photos of victims will be shared, an original student piano piece will be performed, attendees will record and send messages to Rwanda as part of Kwibuka20’s “A Million Voices” program, and a traditional Rwandan dance will conclude.   University Religious Center Courtyard, 7:30 – 8:30pm.  

Academic panel: USC Doheny Memorial Library 240, 4—5 p.m.Grand Opening and Reception: USC Doheny Memorial Library main lobby, 5 —6 p.m.

Nový vzdělávací program USC Shoah Foundation kombinuje filmová svědectví s autentickými lokalitamiPRAHA – Filmové vzpomínky přeživších holocaustu pomohou obnovit historickou paměť v rámci vzdělávacího programu IWalks vytvořeného USC Shoah Foundation. IWalks jsou interaktivním zážitkem spojujícím konkrétní lokality v několika evropských zemích se vzpomínkami na historické události, které se přímo na těchto místech odehrály.

USC Shoah Foundation’s executive director Stephen Smith and managing director Kim Simon will participate in the Kigali International Forum on Genocide this week, part of Rwanda’s Kwibuka20 commemoration.

Valerie Nyirarudodo says she has forgiven the perpetrators of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda who have asked for it, and encourages others to follow the same path.

A special delegation of staff and supporters of the USC Shoah Foundation arrived in Rwanda yesterday to begin a weeklong mission to learn about the Institute’s work in Rwanda, reinforce their commitment, and share the experience with others.

Orli Robin is a junior creative writing major and double minors in Judaic studies and resistance to genocide at USC. Orli has been a Shoah Foundation intern for three years and is currently the research assistant to the Institute’s Senior Fellow Doug Greenberg. Orli also volunteers with KAYA Press, a non-profit publishing house that prints Asian diasporic literature. Orli is a USC Levan Institute undergraduate scholar and sings with the USC Thornton Collegium Workshop.

As a writer fascinated by literary and political theory on history and memory, I watched students from Camino Nuevo High School interview Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter while I sat in awe witnessing the past and future intersect before my eyes.

When the first students begin participating in IWalks, USC Shoah Foundation’s testimony-on-location program launching in Czech Republic, Marcel Mahdal will know how meaningful the experience is for them.

Two women brought together as a result of the genocide in Rwanda share their story.When Rwandans were called upon to kill all Tutsi, some refused. Throughout the country Hutu tried to help and hide Tutsi - thousands paid with their lives. In their hearts, these people believed that what they were being told to do was wrong, and that it was more important to protect life than to follow orders.

The footsteps of Holocaust survivors will come to life in IWalks, USC Shoah Foundation’s new interactive testimony experience in Czech Republic now available on the USC Shoah Foundation website.

On April 6, 1994, an aircraft carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down by a surface-to-air missile as it was about to land in Kigali airport. Everyone aboard the plane was killed: Habyarimana; president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira; and a three-man French crew. While it remains unclear who fired the missile, the event is viewed as having ignited the 1994 Rwandan Tutsi Genocide.Live Wesige remembers hearing the news about the president’s death and describes the violence that ensued in his neighborhood the next day, April 7, 1994.

One of Rwanda’s most prolific ambassadors of tolerance and action against genocide is Yannick Tona, who, at 24 years old, has already emerged as a powerful speaker and future leader.

April 2, 2014:  Yannick Tona, currently a student at Texas Christian University, speaks to students in the USC Shoah Foundation Student Association of his experiences during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which took the lives of most of his family, and of how he connected these horrors from his past to his humanitarian efforts of today. For more information on Yannick: http://www.yannicktona.com/

USC Shoah Foundation’s mission to Rwanda ends Tuesday after the delegation attended the Kwibuka20 commemoration ceremony and delved into USC Shoah Foundation’s work in education and archive-building.

Holocaust survivor Celina Biniaz, Cambodian Genocide survivor Sara Pol-Lim, and Rwandan Genocide survivor Edith Umugiraneza will speak together on a panel about women in genocide, to be moderated by USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Stephen Smith. Syuzanna Petrosyan, a USC graduate student and third-generation descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors, will introduce the event.TCC 205 (Tutor Campus Center Office of Admissions Classroom), 6:30 – 8pm.

More than 30 hours of content will be available for free through Xfinity On Demand, Xfinity TV Go app and online in conjunction with the U.S. National Days of Remembrance.

Join the USC Armenian Student Association, SFISA, and USC Shoah Foundation as they commemorate the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.Tommy Trojan 12-2 PM