For the Reporter
“How can lessons of the Holocaust inspire you to make the world a better place?”
This is the question that was posed to hundreds of students in the Pacific Northwest for the Holocaust Center for Humanity’s 2015 Writing, Art and Film Contest.
More than 700 students in grades 5 through 12 from more than 60 schools throughout the Northwest answered in the form of poetry, fiction, painting, sculpture, drawing, and film.
On Sunday, the center honored the winners at an awards ceremony.
This year, four students from the Kent School District were among the winners.
• Bahar Bashizada, honorable mention, art (7th-8th), Meridian Middle School, eighth grade. Teacher: Debora Robinson
• Katrina Fernandez, second place, art (7th-8th), Meridian Middle School, eighth grade. Teacher: Robinson
• Jason Woolley, third place, film, Kent Mountain View Academy, eighth grade. Teacher: Amanda Greear
• Brittney Figaro, third place, writing (9th-12th), Kent Mountain View Academy, 9th grade. Teacher: Nora Douglass
The following is an excerpt Figaro’s submission:
“We can use the Holocaust to understand the roots and consequences of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping in any society. We can develop an awareness of the value of pluralism and an acceptance of diversity.”
For more than 25 years, the Holocaust Center for Humanity (formerly the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center) has been teaching tolerance through lessons of Holocaust and providing educational resources to teachers and community groups throughout the region.
The center offers teacher trainings, a Speakers Bureau of local Holocaust survivors, “travelling trunks,” and the Writing, Art and Film Contest.
The contest gives students the opportunity to engage with the lessons of the Holocaust, while empowering them to explore themes of tolerance, bigotry, and compassion in their daily lives.
A full list of the winners and their work is available at holocaustcenterseattle.org.
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