Annual Symposium on the Holocaust

The Annual Symposium on the Holocaust is held each spring for senior high school students.

Teachers and students engage with a historian, Holocaust survivor speakers and a keynote speaker. The symposium also includes a documentary film excerpt and a student Q&A panel.

This year, the 46th Annual Symposium on the Holocaust will be held at the P. A. Woodward Instructional Resources Centre (IRC 2) at The University of British Columbia on June 4, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Registration is now open!

District-wide Symposia

Half-day district-wide symposia are held October through May every year in various school districts throughout the Lower Mainland.

Each symposium consists of a historical overview of the Holocaust, a documentary film excerpt, a Holocaust Survivor Speaker presentation and a student Q&A period.

Dates and locations for 2022–23 will be posted on an ongoing basis.

To attend a district-wide symposium, follow these simple steps:

  1. Contact us with the subject line: School District Symposium
  2. Indicate which symposium you would like to attend, the name of your school, and how many students would like to attend the symposium

A staff member will then follow up with you.

If you would like to host a district-wide symposium in your school, please contact programs@vhec.org.

DistrictDate & Time

The VHEC is grateful to the following for their support of symposia programming:

Diamond Foundation, Summit Ice, Michael & Rita Levy,* Lohn Foundation, David & Danya Fugman, Don Rosenbloom, the Vaisler family,** the Azrieli Foundation, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Province of BC and by the following VHEC endowment funds: Joseph and Mary Bulles Legacy, Sid and Sylvia Eibschutz, Lilli and Izak Folk Memorial, Edwina and Paul Heller Holocaust Education, Leo Krell Memorial Book, Lovi Memorial, Goldie and Avrum Miller Memorial, Meyer and Gita Kron, Ruth Kron Sigal for Excellence in Holocaust Education and the Lehrer and Sophie Waldman endowment funds.

* In honour of Robert Krell’s Order of Canada

** In honour of Syd & Sari Vaisler and Naomi & Mac Adler

Feedback

This symposium was informative, engaging, and though provoking. It really put a ‘human face’ on the Holocaust. The symposium is an excellent supplement to in-class education.

“There were many new insights and perspectives discussed that stimulated me to think critically about central issues surrounding the Holocaust and its effect on present conflicts.”