Our ongoing Inspiring Speaker Series presents distinguished educators, activists and authors to audiences in the U.S. and in the Ukraine. Past speakers have included Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry and Holocaust Survivor Roald Hoffmann, who is also a professor at Cornell University. Other distinguished speakers included writers and activists, including Ruta Vanagaite and Liesel Appel
Our youngest U.S. volunteers, who are teens and young adults, participate in various peer-to-peer events at local high schools, including Needham High and Newton-South High, and colleges, such as Babson College and Wellesley College. These events provide an opportunity to introduce previously unknown Shoah stories to teens and young adults and engage with them through Q&A discussions. The events enable us to raise often unfamiliar topics to these young audiences about the Shoah.
We conduct annual events in the U.S. and in Ukraine on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and on HaShoah. We also hold special educational events in synagogues, summer camps, theaters and other venues. Honoring veterans is important to us, as well. That’s why for several years running we have held an event on Veteran’s Day. All of our events are for the general public, but we specifically aim to reach younger people.
On specific tragic dates, such as September 29-30 (Babin Yar massacre) and October 14-16 (Lubny massacre), we organize recurring commemoration events at the killing sites in Ukraine. We often plant long-living metasequoia trees at these events. Our events are well attended by the public, including students and teachers, as well as local, national and international officials, such as the Mayors of Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Lubny and Fastov; Consul Generals from Israel and Poland;members of Ukraine’s Parliament and local dignitaries. We have held events in Kharkiv, Lubny, Piryatin, Bila Tserkva, Vinnitsa, Kremenchyk and Fastov. We enjoy widespread event coverage from local and state media.
