Auschwitz: The Past is Present ITeach Professional Development Program

The USC Shoah Foundation, in partnership with Discovery Education, is offering a unique opportunity to educators in IHRA member states; the Auschwitz: The Past is Present ITeach Professional Development Program to take place in Poland January 23 -28, 2015.

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Auschwitz: The Past is Present ITeach Professional Development Program will choose up to 25 educators from around the world to participate in a four-day in-depth program.  Participants will spend two days in Warsaw, including a visit to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, where they will develop digital and media literacies and the ability to utilize the testimonies from the Holocaust and other genocides across their curriculum. 

Additionally, participants will deepen their understanding of the history and continued relevance of the physical sites of genocide.  Participants will meet survivors of the Auschwitz camps before attending the commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the liberation on 27 January at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.  Beyond deepening their historical understanding and their capacity for using testimony, teachers will explore the importance of teaching about the Holocaust and its potential for developing empathy and respect for the human experience in a way that continues to be relevant. Finally, it will be expected that these newly trained educators take their testimony-based pedagogical skills to their classrooms and colleagues, extending reach and impact.

The application process begins Monday 15 September and educators are encouraged to submit their applications early as only the first 300 applications will be reviewed.   To complete the online application, each educator will be required to review an IWitness Mini Quest activity, answer five short essay questions and create a short 90-second video. 

For US teachers, applications will be submitted through our partner, Discovery Education, via the website (launching 15 September): www.pastispresentauschwitz.com

For non-US teachers, applications will be submitted via the contest pages on IWitness (launching 15 September).