International Programs

Over 1,000 teachers have completed TOLI training since the programs began in Europe in 2012. These programs are designed to fit within the context of each country’s Holocaust history and contemporary issues of human rights and social justice. TOLI has continued to grow throughout Europe, with a new international program set to take place in 2023 in Spain, besides the 10 countries in which we are already active.

Seminar graduates have the opportunity to apply for impact grants to put in practice what they learn by organizing local projects with their students. Close to 100 impact grant projects were carried out last year in Europe. In 2021, European teachers were encouraged to engage in collaborative projects with other TOLI teachers from their home country or other European countries. These projects give students from different towns and countries the opportunity to interact and learn about the Holocaust and human rights through a peer learning approach, as well as expand their horizons and learn about the history of Jewish communities throughout Europe. A booklet with examples of local and international projects was published in 2022, describing TOLI’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching about the Holocaust, human rights, and the methodology for collaborative projects.

Please note that while we encourage teachers from all countries to apply for our European seminars, TOLI will be unable to cover travel expenses for those living outside of the country in which the seminar is held. Please contact Oana Nestian-Sandu with questions at onestian@tolinstitute.org.

Italy

TOLI’s seminars in Italy are organized in partnership with CDEC Foundation and MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education). High school teachers of humanities from across Italy, are trained on both the study of the anti-Semitic fascist segregation (persecution, discrimination) and the causes and effects of today’s hate speech in Italy, providing them with suitable tools for working with students. TOLI’s fifth Italian seminar will be held September 3-7, 2023. Read more

Lithuania

TOLI’s fifth seminar in Lithuania,  “Learning from the Past, Acting for the Future-Teaching about the Holocaust and Human Rights” will take place in Vilnius on June 19-23, 2023. The program includes a deep dive into the history of Lithuania and European involvement in the Holocaust, a guided tour of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, The Tolerance Education Center, Survivor Testimony, a walking tour of the Vilna Ghetto, The Synagogue, and a Kosher Dinner to understand about Jewish Culture and what was lost in the Holocaust. Read more

Romania

TOLI’s Steven & Anne Ausnit Romania Seminar, entitled Learning from the Past, Acting for the Future – Teaching about the Holocaust and Human Rights, is organized in partnership with the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania and the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara. The seminar agenda includes lectures and workshops exploring an extensive list of topics, among them antisemitism, Romanian Jewish life, the Holocaust in Northern Transylvania, the Roma genocide, the memory of the Holocaust in the post-Communist era. Educators also meet Holocaust survivors, watch Holocaust-related theatre performances, and tour local sites relevant for Jewish life and history, including the street where Olga and her family lived. TOLI’s twelfth annual seminar in Romania will take place in Cluj-Napoca on July 24-28, 2023.

Serbia

TOLI’s fourth seminar in Serbia will be organized in partnership with Terraforming. The seminar will take place in Novi Sad on August 21-25, 2023. A group of 35 teachers from across the country will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge about the Holocaust and to work together to find meaningful ways of bringing this important part of history to their students. The seminar will also address local histories, experiences and narratives, as well as present day human rights violations and discrimination. Read more

Spain

TOLI’s first seminar in Spain will take place in Valencia on July 3-6, 2023. The seminar, organized in partnership with Memorial de la Shoah and European Education Institute for a Democratic Culture, will bring together 35 teachers from across the country to learn about the Holocaust, the Jewish heritage in Spain and about present day antisemitism and other forms of hatred and discrimination. Teachers will learn from renowned lecturers and discuss pedagogical aspects of teaching the Holocaust, as well meaningful ways to engage in international partnerships to address the Holocaust and human rights.
More information to come.

International Conferences

Building on the national seminars organized in various European countries, in 2021 TOLI started organizing international conferences, bringing together teachers from several European countries with the aim of creating a platform for learning and for sharing experiences, teaching practices, challenges faced, and ways to overcome them. The International Conferences will offer teachers opportunities to gain a broader and more accurate understanding of the Holocaust, to learn about Jewish communities in different countries before and after the war, as well as to challenge nationalistic discourses and teaching practices. At the same time, they will engage teachers in processes of reflection and action on present-day human rights violations. In every country there are marginalized communities, there is unfair legislation, but also integration practices and intercultural policies. These conferences will help teachers expand their knowledge, interests, and understanding of the European context (in the past and in the present) in order to engage their students in meaningful learning processes.

This year’s international conference will take place in Spain, December 11-14, 2023.

PAST SEMINARS

Austria

Portugal

The third TOLI seminar to take place in Portugal was held December 7-11, 2022.  The program is in cooperation with the Memoshoa, the Portuguese Association for Holocaust Remembrance, focusing on Holocaust rescue, noting the role of Portugal in WWII enabling Jews to find safe passage to freedom.  Read more

Ukraine

TOLI’s fourth Ukrainian seminar, in partnership with Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies,  entitled “Learning from the Past, Acting for the Future-Teaching about the Holocaust and Human Rights”  was held November 2022.  This seminar contributes to the increasing the quality of education regarding the Holocaust and human rights in Ukraine. The program provides a rich opportunity to integrate national and international approaches in teaching about these topics and in understanding the contemporary relevance of this important part of modern history. Read more

Handbook Learning from the Past Acting for the Future