Three New Education Initiatives

The WE ARE HERE! Foundation announces three new education initiatives. These  education programs promote human rights and social justice through the principle of being an Upstander.

1. IN MY POCKET Project on the Kindertransport and displaced people, suitable for 9 to 11 year olds, in collaboration with educators in Germany and Scotland.

The project has been further developed for this age group for WA Museum Boola Bardip and other organisations in Australia. These consist of Book Readings with Art & Craft Workshops.

Participants will watch a video and read Dorith Sim’s uplifting true story about her escape, all alone in 1939 from Germany, on the Kindertransport.

Video

Points of Arrival - Dorrith Sim (Subtitled)
Dorrith Sim was one of the thousands of Jewish children who arrived in the UK in 1939 on what became known as the Kindertransport. Travelling alone and speaking little English, she was taken in by an Edinburgh family. After the war, Dorrith chose to remain in Edinburgh. She wrote a book about her experiences and became an ambassador and spokesperson for her fellow refugees.

Today, there are millions of refugees and displaced people, many of whom are children. This project highlights their difficulties when leaving their country of origin and settling in a new country. They would experience language, identity and belonging issues, the changing of family roles and cultural differences.

 It provides a clear link to what young people from diverse backgrounds could see and face about their ethnicities.

This is a creative and interactive program that inspires children to be upstanders and not bystanders, providing them with the tools to bulid strengths to deal with our multicultural communities.

The workshops are free for participants and educators.

2. Holocaust Teachers’ Resources & Year 10 Holocaust History Curriculum Resources  

by Dr Bill Allen, retired Senior Lecturer in Education

Dr Bill Allen’s new and comprehensive resources are for Year 10 teachers to use to teach the Holocaust component of the in-depth study of World War 2.

Divided into two sets, the first resourse is textual, with lesson outlines, readings, discussion templates, lists of videos and activities. The second is a PowerPoint that accompanies and supports the textual resources.

These online resources are free.

“Thank you to the WE ARE HERE! Foundation for creating and making their suite of useful and informative resources available for History teachers. The resources have been well constructed and sit beautifully with the West Australian curriculum.   I would strongly suggest that all WA History teachers take the time to investigate the website and look forward to Bill Allen’s presentation on utilising the resources at the HTAWA March State Conference.”
Catherine Baron
Principal –
Lakeland Senior High School
President – History Teachers’ Association of Australia & HTAWA

3 . The Handbook:

The Holocaust and the Australian Aboriginal Response written by author Barbara Miller, in collaboration with the WE ARE HERE! Foundation.

This detailed online resource focuses on Australia’s response to the events leading up to and during the Holocaust, and in particular the specific response of Aboriginal political and social activist William Cooper and fellow members of the Australian Aboriginal League (AAL).

Success is not always achieved overnight. William Cooper marched to the Consulate of Germany in Melbourne on 6 December 1938 to present his petition in support of Germany’s Jews. His petition was not accepted. This deed was only fully recognised by the German government in 2017.

The handbook also covers the current worldwide definition of antisemitism and what can be done to stand up to it.

This is a resource for educators and teachers and for upper secondary students and adult education programs in Australia and internationally.

“Some say that William Cooper only performed one act of solidarity in protesting the Germans’ cruel treatment of the Jews. However, I sense that he has become more than a Christian Aboriginal Upstander. He has become a symbol of the bond between Jews and Aborigines which was formed through his protest and which has deepened with the commemoration of his actions.” Barbara Miller, biographer.

The WE ARE HERE! Foundation, funded by a US government grant, brought US educator Nance Adler to Australia in 2019 to run a series of events and workshops on the theme of Upstanders. The Foundation provided new resources for educators, highlighting the story of Aboriginal UpstanderWilliam Cooper. On her return to the United States, Ms Adler introduced the William Cooper narrative to her students as part of what it means to be an Upstanderin the face of discrimination and injustice. She continues to do so today.
To request your free online copy of the handbook, visit the website and and complete the contact form:

[contact-form-7 id=”2466″ title=”Contact form 1″]

Dr Bill Allen, Professor Lynne Cohen, Eli and Jill Rabinowitz