Here is my update on the TECs – Tolerance Education Centres in Lithuania and how we can help build bridges.
If you know the name of your shtetl, please contact me and I will help you to connect with those who are working with TECs and Lithuanian school students and their teachers. Travelling to the region and meeting with local students has been the most rewarding of my experiences in the past six years.
There are growing numbers of Lithuanians, Poles and those within other communities in the FSU who now learn about their history and about the rich Jewish life that once existed in these towns, which are now devoid of Jews. The internet now offers the best opportunity ever for them to engage with Jewish people from abroad.
There is a further benefit: we can educate our children and grandchildren here in the Litvak diaspora. So little seems to be availble within the school curriculum, even though private Jewish Day School fees are so high. “Too hard” or “we are covering it” is what I hear! And then there is also the no response…… and another year passes!
It is a real shame that our cultural heritage is in danger of fading away and dying!
Educating about our Jewish cultural history remains my passion and I hope and that there are enough of us out there to make a difference!
There are now 119 Tolerance Education Centres in Lithuania.
Here is the list:
Here is an example of three of these projects and how visitors to Lithuania can engage teachers and students involved in these projects.