Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) has created the Tour for Humanity (T4H), a mobile human rights education centre to teach students, educators, community leaders, and front-line professionals about topics of diversity, democracy, and Canadian civic rights and responsibilities.
The purpose of T4H is to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds, empowering them to raise their voices and take action against hate and intolerance, bullying and to promote justice and human rights.
T4H has already visited dozens of schools and community organizations in Toronto, York Region, Belleville, Pickering, Halton-Peel Region, Durham Region, Ottawa, Newmarket, Orangeville, Unionville, Barrie, Aurora, Port Hope, Milton, Fergus, Georgetown – and many more. It has been welcomed by numerous leaders including Prime Minister Stephen Harper; Premier Kathleen Wynn; Lieutenant Governor General, David Onley and even famous Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.
T4H cost $1.2 million to conceive, design and build. It is a 30-seat, wheel-chair accessible, state-of-the-art, technologically advanced mobile education centre that presents information on the effects and consequences of hate and intolerance. The experience travels throughout the province, educating people from different personal and professional backgrounds and experiences. It provides education on historical events, and focus on how these events are relevant to both Canadian and global perspectives.
Education programs on T4H have been specially crafted for both students and adults alike. For this reason, we are able to engage all age groups and specifically cater workshops to impact everyone including law enforcement, educators, students, business and community leaders and government.
Each session is lead by an experienced facilitator to introduce the content and lead the discussion. The classroom teacher is responsible for preparing students with pre and post activities and assignments. We have also developed educational materials for teachers to make use of before and after the program, in order to begin and continue conversations about the topics covered (see “Preparing for the Experience” link below).
Each teacher must also submit the pre-survey to the incoming facilitator to ensure we focus on the desired material (see below). We also ask each teacher to complete the post survey so we can continue perfecting the experience (see below).
Each session is approximately 45 minutes long, and can accommodate one class of 30 people at a time. During a typical school day, this would accommodate up to six classes or 180 students per day. Programming is directly linked to the Ontario Ministry of Education expectations including:
As it typically costs the organization more than $1,000 per day visit, we request that schools maximize this experience to its fullest potential. As a non-profit organization, we request schools contribute to this expense: schools requesting a day trip within the local area are asked to make a minimum $500 honourarium while schools that require an overnight trip are asked to make a minimum contribution of $750 to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center to ensure the program remains sustainable (and it’s good citizenship).
To make our visit memorable, each student attendee will receive a bracelet as a gift from the organization. Each classroom will also receive a “What’s Your APP for making the World a Better Place” poster to hang in your classroom and a certificate of completion. We recommend teachers take pictures with their students in front of the bus to include in their newsletters to parents.
The Tour bus requires a designated parking area of 20ft x 50ft to park the bus and allow students to flow on and off safely. Please ask our staff how you can contribute to a greener environment by “plugging-in” the bus to your school electric facility.
The Tour for Humanity is a great vehicle to begin a community dialogue and to showcase support for human rights. We invite communities to exhibit the “Bus” by working alongside our education team to create an impressive program. Although not exhaustive, here are some ideas of where and how T4H can be utilized:
If you or your organization is interested in T4H, we invite you to reach out to us and explore collaborative opportunities. Together we can make the world a better place.
To book the Tour Contact:
Daniella Lurion 416-864-9735 x 22 dlurion@fswc.ca
Elena Kingsbury 416-864-9735 x 27 ekingsbury@fswc.ca
CLICK HERE TO VIEW: Tour for Humanity – Suggested Reading List
CLICK HERE TO VIEW: Tour for Humanity – Preparing for the Experience
