We were so pleased to participate in this year’s Human Rights Institute for High School Student Leaders, a program of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center. This year’s Keynote Speaker was former White Supremacist Derek Black, and students had the opportunity to ask him questions about his experiences and ideological shift. We then participated in two workshops designed by local high school students: one on climate change in developing countries, and the other on women’s rights. Next was another talk and Q&A session, this time with Judith Altmann, a Holocaust survivor. At the end of the program, individual school groups met (virtually) to explore how to move forward with prosocial actions in their schools and communities.

This was an eye-opening and inspiring day for our participants, and we are excited to carry what we learned and explored into our lives and communities going forward!

WYA members attended the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center's Human Rights Institute for High School Leaders.

This full day leadership experience included a keynote presentation about voting rights in the United States during the 1960's, youth-led workshops, and a presentation by HHREC's GenerationsForward member, Michael Gyory. Following the keynote presentation, WYA members facilitated a workshop on Censorship, their human rights topic of choice. Our members, Emiliano Juarez (White Plains HS, '24), Annissa Khanna (Harvey School, '23), and Fariha Rahman (Pleasantville HS, '23) developed an incredibly nuanced workshop covering global, national and local censorship issues.