Forum for Dialogue has started a collaboration with The Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education at Chapman University. This year for the first time a school from Poland – a School of Dialogue from Chojnice – is participating in the Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest, Telling It Forward: Making Memory Matter. The contest is organized for the 17th time this year by the Chapman University and The 1939 Society, and Organization of Holocaust Survivors, Descendants and Friends. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on March 4 in California.

Students of the Heschel High School NY and students of Słowackiego High School in Kielce visited the School of Dialogue students in Suchedniów. This is what the Heschel’s group lead teacher and Forum’s friend Shmuel Afek wrote to us immediately afterwards: “First, I would like to congratulate you on organizing a marvelous and extremely meaningful visit to the gimnazjum im. Stanisława Staszica in Suchedniów. The pupils were extremely well prepared and they presented their work proudly (and – understandably – nervously) giving us a glimpse into Jewish life in their town. This is obviously due to the quality of the students themselves, the support that they received from the school administration, their teacher Pani Berlińska, but first and foremost to Kasia and Karolina, the educators who worked so hard to make our visit successful. As you know we traveled to Suchedniów with students from the big city of Kielce, who were very impressed by what they saw and learned. What can I say? It was everything I could have hoped for, and having worked with you for the last 3 or 4 years it was a most authentic demonstration of the truly amazing (may I say, unique?) work that you are doing throughout Poland.“

Zuzanna Radzik, Forum For Dialogue Board Member, and Robert Augustyniak, participant of our Leader of Dialogue program, were present on February 15 at the unveiling of a memorial commemorating Jews of Grodzisk Mazowiecki. It’s located where the synagogue used to be. Local authorities, representatives of the Jewish Community in Warsaw and numerous residents of the town, including School of Dialogue students, gathered to pay their respects.

Michał Bilewicz, Vice-President of the Forum for Dialogue, was in Lucerne, Switzerland to present during the IHRA International Research Conference on Education about the Holocaust, organized February 15-17. The effects of the School of Dialogue program will be discussed tomorrow, among other examples, when he gives a paper on Using Moral Exemplars and Local Memory in Holocaust Education.

Karolina Jakoweńko, uczestniczka naszego programu Liderzy Dialogu, została właśnie powołana Kierownikiem nowo otwartego Domu Pamięci Żydów Górnośląskich. Dom Pamięci mieści się w odrestaurowanym budynku dawnego domu przedpogrzebowego i jest jednym z oddziałów Muzeum w Gliwicach. Jego misją jest szerzenie wiedzy o dziedzictwie, kulturze i historii Żydów. Serdecznie gratulujemy Karolinie Jakoweńko i zachęcamy wszystkich do zwiedzania.

Andrzej Folwarczny, the President of Forum for Dialogue, has began his trip to the US to talk about Forum’s recent activities. He started with a special visit to Milwaukee where on Sunday, January 17, he took part in a community event hosted by Milwaukee Jewish Federation. He met there with 13 Jewish educators who participated in our study trip to Poland in November 2015. Forum’s mission came across poignantly to the audience of more than a 100 community members during a talk which included a moving presentation prepared by all the participants, followed by a few words from Andrzej Folwarczny. This was a unique opportunity to hear their reflections on the trip, exchange views with the audience and further discuss Polish/Jewish relations. We are grateful to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation for their initiative in furthering the goals of the Forum!

David Harris, Chief Executive Officer of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), attended a meeting with the alumni of the Polish/Jewish Exchange Program, which Forum for Dialogue had been running together with AJC since 1996. This unique program targets AJC members and Polish opinion leaders, and it has been strengthening the circle of supporters of Polish/Jewish dialogue for years. The discussion, which was also attended by representatives of AJC leadership, covered topics such as the current political situation in Poland and the world, as well as the importance of cooperation between the Forum and AJC.

David Harris came to Poland to meet representatives of Polish authorities, including the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Witold Waszczykowski.