University of Southern California creates UNESCO Chair on Genocide Education

Dr. Stephen Smith, Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and a member of the U.S. delegation to IHRA, was appointed holder of a new UNESCO Chair for Genocide Education on 3 October.

The Chair will engage in international cooperation to promote education and research about the history of genocide and mass atrocities, providing new impetus to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's important international academic and educational programs. The USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive contains nearly 52,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses to the Holocaust. 

The creation of the Chair will stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue in the field of Holocaust and genocide studies and develop educational materials, academic projects and professional development for educators while serving UNESCO's overall purpose to promote Holocaust remembrance and education about the history of genocide and mass atrocities. 

“I am a firm believer that education is the bedrock of our efforts to prevent genocide,” Smith said. “Through this partnership, USC and UNESCO are joining forces to develop the research networks and education programs essential to understand and limit genocide in future generations.”

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said the new position will increase awareness around the world for Holocaust and genocide studies.

“We anticipate that this new chair, placed under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Smith, will contribute to increased international cooperation on these matters by connecting with UNESCO’s network of university chairs and by supporting the activities of the organization on issues pertaining to the history of the Holocaust, genocide and to human rights,” Bokova said.

Photo courtesy of USC Shoah Foundation.