Sir Nicholas Winton’s daughter calls for youth to ‘represent victims of the Shoah’
Holocaust Educational Trust young ambassadors were urged to represent victims of the Shoah
Sir Nicholas Winton’s daughter has asked young ambassadors of the Holocaust Education Trust to “shape the future” by representing the victims of the Shoah.
Barbara Winton was joined by Jewish community leaders and Jews saved from the Holocaust by efforts such as her father’s at the fourth annual Ambassador Conference in central London.
“My father was told to wait and that something would happen but he didn’t, he just went ahead and did it,” said Barbara. “That’s our message to young people today: don’t wait for other people to do things as they may never do.”
HET Ambassadors are young adults who have been on the organisation’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project. They come back to the UK and undertake a range of activities, such as writing articles, giving presentations, inviting Holocaust survivors to schools, arranging film screenings and marking Holocaust Memorial Day.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis told the youngsters to make an impact by helping to “create a beautiful harmony in our society,” adding: “You will be Ambassadors for the men, women and children who were denied the right to live out their lives.”
The event focused on learning more information about the Holocaust and showing the Ambassadors how to take “practical steps to combat anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance today”.
Joining them were leading figures such as BBC presenter Nick Robinson and Philippe Sands QC, a barrister specialising in international law including genocide and crimes against humanity.
Other speakers included Lord Browne of Madingley, the head of the Ambassador programme and former boss of oil giant BP, and Sir Eric Pickles MP, head of Conservative Friends of Israel and the UK’s special envoy on post-Holocaust issues.
Joining Winton on stage was Lord Alf Dubs, the Labour peer who was himself saved from the Holocaust as a young boy on one of the Kindertransport. He told the Ambassadors: “You are here to make a difference.”
Our new PM signs a commitment to #ShapeTheFuture @HolocaustUK #AC2016 pic.twitter.com/YCd00a96xu
— Eric Pickles (@EricPickles) July 11, 2016
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
