Haifa U launches innovation hub to remember Holocaust victims
Examples of student projects include a virtual reality experience telling the story of Jewish children in Holland during the Holocaust.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSStudents from University of Haifa's Innovation Hub hard at work conducting research for their projects.(photo credit: UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA)
The State of Israel is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit, and now that energy is being redirected to a novel cause: keeping the memory of those killed in the Holocaust alive.As the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles year on year, the number of young people who haven't heard of the atrocity is on the rise.A study released in January found that two thirds of American millennials did not know what Auschwitz was, while 22% said they hadn't heard of the Holocaust or weren't sure what it was - twice the percentage of American adults as a whole who said the same.Other studies in Canada and France found similar results: one in five young Canadians had never heard of the Holocaust, while in France, a quarter of millennials weren't aware of it.Now the University of Haifa has launched an innovative program designed to inject Holocaust memorial work with Israel's entrepreneurial spirit, to find new ways to engage young people and teach them about the horrors of the past in the hope that they will never be repeated.The university has launched the Weiss-Livnat Innovation Hub for Holocaust Education and Commemoration, a prestigious program designed to support graduate students who have already shown an innovative flair in this field. It plans to provide a dynamic, supportive and empowering environment for students passionate about the importance of sustaining the memory of the victims.“A large number of our students go on to do museum work, research and teach, but we are also aware of the need to stimulate innovation in this field, encourage the development of technology and create new opportunities for our graduates. As such, the University decided to try something new: infusing Holocaust commemoration with a more entrepreneurial spirit,” Dr. Yael Granot-Bein, Director of the Weiss-Livnat International MA Program for Holocaust Studies, explained.Examples of student projects include a virtual reality experience telling the story of Jewish children in Holland during the Holocaust; an augmented reality app that overlays little-known Jewish landmarks in Berlin which were destroyed, illustrating the robust Jewish life that existed in the city before the war; a culinary tour of Melbourne focusing on bakeries established by Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors; and an online learning community for young Europeans, featuring podcasts and workshops on the Holocaust.Seven students have been accepted onto the program so far, from Australia, Germany, Holland and England. Most of the students are former graduates of the Weiss-Livnat International MA Program in Holocaust Studies.“The hub is dedicated to nurturing young people from different countries and cultures who have an idea of how to teach or commemorate the Holocaust," Granot-Bein said. "The Hub brought these passionate and creative people together and provided them with a supportive environment in which they worked with mentors and professionals who helped them turn their vision into a reality.”
