In the News: AFP Initiatives Featured in Two News Stories

Buffalo State’s social justice–oriented Anne Frank Project (AFP) has received news coverage for two offshoots of the original annual AFP festival, which uses stories as vehicles to teach lessons in conflict resolution, community building, and identity exploration.

An August 8 article in IGIHE, one of Rwanda’s top newspapers, highlighted the importance of the story-based learning that Drew Kahn, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and AFP director, and his cadre of students have shared with educators and students in several countries, including Kenya, Switzerland, the Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The effort began in Rwanda in 2009 and continues in that country as an annual training for teachers.

And on August 13, the Buffalo News covered the SUNY Buffalo State Social Justice Fellowship: Sophia’s Legacy, a three-day conference for educators held August 13–15 in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. Meant to help bring lessons of genocide into local classrooms, the conference was attended by about 20 teachers.

A number of recent news articles have addressed the growing lack of knowledge about the Holocaust, especially among younger generations. Sophia Veffer, Holocaust survivor and retired schoolteacher who has worked for years with AFP, was featured throughout the intensive workshop.