History Speaks International

14 March 08 This week we have been conducting a teacher training seminar in Lithuania, with colleagues from House of Memory, Lithuania and with teachers from Lithuania and Romania. The project is a part of the History Speaks programme and the teachers were there to learn about the history of the Holocaust, to visit sites of the Holocaust, and to learn how to take video testimony and work with their pupils on capturing the local history of the Holocaust. Dr Stephen Smith, Director of the Holocaust Centre and Chantelle Lee, Education Development Officer and Darren Barker, Film and Camera Personnel were joined in Lithuania by Drs Gary Mills and Rolf Wiesemas, our partners at Nottingham University’s School of Education. Our long-term friends and partners in Lithuania at House of Memory worked with us to provide seminar facilities and all of the logistical support needed to make the seminar possible.
 
“We are really delighted to report that this seminar was a tremendous success,” says Stephen. “The Romanian teachers, in particular, gained a great deal from the seminar, because they had not previously been able to explore the history of the Holocaust and were very empowered to know that they could go back to their town of Iasi and work with their pupils on discovering more about the history of the Jews of Iasi.”
 
In June, the return leg of the seminar will continue with a three-day programme in Yash where Stephen and Chantelle will be working with the teachers and their pupils in order to create the first content for the History Speaks website in Romania. This three-month training programme is about working with a small group of teachers in a very intensive and deep way in order to provide them with relevant skills. It’s also to develop their working knowledge of the Holocaust over a long period of time. Gary Mills and Rolf Wiesemas are evaluating the programme and will report formally to us on its effectiveness so we can continue to improve our delivery.

This part of the History Speaks project is funded by the International Task Force and European Union Funding.