Testimonials from the USHMM Study Visit

USHMM-ENCATE Study Visit was a great opportunity to share educational skills and discuss contemporary forms of antisemitism. 14 educators from ENCATE met their colleagues from the USHMM between November 4 and 9, 2020. Read the testimonials below.

David Gilles

David Gilles
Project Manager of Traveling Exhibitions
Anne Frank Zentrum e.V.

For me, the exchange with experts from Europe and the USA was a great experience. I learned a lot from their working methods, perspectives and attitudes.

Participating in the ENCATE/USHMM conference 2020 has been a rewarding and enriching experience, both in terms of knowledge and inspiration to help me better deliver the education programme that I run here in the UK. The spirit of the group was that of like-minded people who genuinely want to play their part in ensuring that the values of respect, tolerance and care for our fellow human beings no matter their nationality, culture or background are upheld and spread universally. In an environment where polarisation, racism and extremism is on the rise across all our countries, coming together in this way helped to boost morale and determination to continue with this work, even in the face of this difficult environment. At the practical level, sharing best practice and learning from one another in terms of methodology was really useful – I will keep in touch with this great group of people and hope we can meet in person sometime in the future once we can resume normal conferences again!

Sharon Booth

Sharon Booth
Founder & Executive Director
Solutions not Sides, UK

Nevena Bajalica

Nevena Bajalica
Co-founder and Programme Manager
Terraforming, Serbia

This was an unique experience in many ways. We were all looking forward to traveling to the States and visiting the Museum in person, and then the epidemic disrupted all our plans. Consequently, the idea of a virtual visit programme brought a slight feeling of disappointment. But during this week of long and intense Zoom video-conferencing I absolutely felt that our relationships with the ENCATE colleagues, but also with the USHMM, got stronger, and how this exchange, despite that our discussions were all about serious and professional matters, contributed to getting to know each other on another, more personal level. I have to admit that I did not expect that a Zoom-based visit could contribute not only to team-building, but in developing the real friendships.

And I really really felt a lot of empathy and solidarity amongst all of us, living through this pandemic and trying to continue to do good and to contribute to progress to the best of our abilities.

It was an honor to take part in the USHMM-ENCATE Study Visit. I enjoyed learning from other organizations’ work, sharing knowledge and inspiring each other. The program was well planned and organized with a decent balance between expert presentations and interactive group work. We (participant and organizers) managed to build a divers, international, supportive community within a week, online. I’m looking forward to establishing further collaborations and working together.

Gabriella Komoly

Gabriella Komoly
Coordinator of Education and Research Programs
Zachor Foundation, Hungary

Mathan Shastin Ravid

Mathan Shastin Ravid
Head of Office
Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism (SCAA)

I am very grateful for the chance to participate in the digital study visit. The programme was a great mix of input and sharing. The lectures were interesting and informative, and we had a lot of time for reflection. To meet educators from so many different countries, in order to share and compare local challenges and best practices, was great. I think we all learned a lot, and I hope we can continue strengthening our network and education about antisemitism and racism in the future.