Ebulletin March 2024 A March quote from Anne Frank's Diary “I said that my noise and exuberance and Peters’ silence were two sides of the same coin, and that I also liked peace and quiet but don’t have anything for myself alone, except my diary...”. Sunday 19th March 1944 What can be done to challenge rising antisemitism? New research offers a proven answer. A rigorous scientific evaluation of the Anne Frank Trust UK shows that its education programme makes young people significantly more positive towards Jews, along with eleven other social groups. The impact is maintained over time, and is especially strong in areas of the country with high levels of antisemitism. Published today, the Educating Against Prejudice report by social psychologists at the University of Kent presents data on nearly 3,000 school pupils – before starting the Anne Frank Trust programme, after completing it, and again a year later. Tim Robertson, Chief Executive of the Anne Frank Trust, says: “This research makes clear that the Anne Frank Trust is outstanding both in impact on prejudice and in proof of that impact. As far as I know, no other education provider has stronger evidence of impact on antisemitism. There are many factors behind this success. By training young people as peer educators, we deepen their learning as well as disseminating it across their schools. By teaching about antisemitism alongside other types of prejudice, we make young people more positive towards all religions, cultures and identities. To me, though, our impact derives above all from the double educational power of Anne Frank: at once universally relatable and specifically Jewish, her diary is an inspirational call for freedom and life, while her murder by the Nazis is a shattering warning of what happens when antisemitism runs unchecked.” Click here to read the Impact Report. Click here to read more about the Impact Report. Young people gather in Manchester to challenge antisemitism and all forms of prejudice Thanks to the immense generosity of Michael Josephson MBE and the support of the Department of Education, 80 of the Anne Frank Trust’s Ambassadors and Peer Educators from across the UK, gathered in Friends’ House in Manchester, for the Anne Frank Trusts Annual Youth Conference. To challenge the increasing levels of discrimination, young people from 14 schools attended workshops focusing on storytelling, as an empowering tool to address antisemitism and all forms of prejudice. The Youth Conference heard from the FED about their pioneering project ‘My Voice’ and from Marianne Philipps, a Holocaust Survivor who has recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Marianne was born in 1924 in Berlin, Germany and had a happy Jewish childhood. After Kristallnacht in November 1938, she left Berlin on the Kindertransport to England. Marianne’s address finished with some important words for the young people. She said, ‘If I have to leave you all with one message today, it would be to encourage you to think for yourself. Don’t rely on social media. Listen and learn from your parents, your grandparents and your teachers. You need that background knowledge and only after that can you really form your own opinion’. Anne Frank Trust peer educator Mohammed who attended the conference said, ‘It can’t work with one person, but when it’s a bigger community, a bigger family, we can work harder to...remove prejudice from our world’. Read more about the Anne Frank Trust Annual Youth Conference by clicking here. Holocaust Survivor Dr Martin Stern MBE visits Anne Frank Scotland Holocaust Survivor, Dr Martin Stern MBE shared his testimony with over 750 young people in Tayside schools - St John's RC High School and Grove Academy in Dundee, at Blairgowrie High School and Pitlochry High School in Scotland. Martin was born in 1938 and lived in Holland. He was taken away to Concentration Camps at the age of 5 and he survived camps at both Westerbork and Theresienstadt. On 8th Mary 1945, the Soviet army entered and liberated the camp. After returning home to the Netherlands, Martin was sent from family to family, before moving to stay with relatives in the UK. The young people were deeply moved by Martin's powerful testimony, and many took the opportunity to speak to him afterwards. We will be sharing some reflections from these young people in the coming weeks. Ramadan and the United Nations International Day to Combat Islamophobia During this Holy Month, we wish all Muslims in the Anne Frank Trust community and beyond a blessed and peaceful Ramadan Mubarak. Please see our social media posts for Ramadan on X (Twitter) here. Please see our social media posts for Ramadan on Instagram here. We are honoured to work with Hifsa Haroon-Iqbal OBE, from the Muslim community. With the current surge in Islamophobia, we commit to redouble our efforts to build a world free from prejudice and discrimination. Hifsa said, ‘We need to be working with our young people, educating them about hate is a destructive force.’ Read more about Hifsa’s incredible work to combat prejudice and further community cohesion by clicking here. Upcoming Events Our upcoming online learning events for students in Year 5-11/ P6-S4, are taking place on the following days: Stephen Lawrence Day Monday 22nd April Please keep an eye on our social media to register for these events or email [email protected] for more information. Manage Cookie Preferences