USC Shoah Foundation Staff Attend UNESCO Meeting on Preventing Violent Extremism Through Education

USC Shoah Foundation executive staff joined UN representatives from all over the world at a special meeting on Preventing Violent Extremism Through Education during the UNESCO 38th General Conference in Paris on Nov. 6.

The meeting was organized by UNESCO and the Permanent Mission of the United States, and was attended by 200 participants, including Education Ministers and the Permanent Delegations of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Stephen Smith, who is also the UNESCO Chair on Genocide Education, attended the meeting with Managing Director Km Simon and Director of Education Kori Street.

The participants discussed breeding grounds and causes of radicalization among youth and how international cooperation could help prevent violent extremism. Smith also gave a presentation about USC Shoah Foundation during a technical panel discussion.

The roundtable discussions and panels helped lay the framework for UNESCO to develop digital educational resources and a teacher’s guide, which will help educators cultivate their students’ critical thinking skills and sense of respect, social justice and diversity. USC Shoah Foundation, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Facing History and Ourselves will collaborate with UNESCO on the creation of these resources.