OSCE rights office, Lithuanian education ministry launch anti-Semitism teaching tools for Lithuanian schools

VILNIUS, 2 July 2009 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Lithuania's Ministry of Education and Science today launched a Lithuanian-language version of teaching materials on combating anti-Semitism designed for use in secondary schools.

Lithuania is the third country to adopt the ODIHR teaching materials, after Germany and Poland.

"It is worrying that many different forms of anti-Semitism historically encountered in Europe can still be seen today," Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Director of ODIHR, said at the launch event in Vilnius.

He stressed that anti-Semitism is a problem in Lithuanian society, but that education could help reduce it.

"Anti-Semitic sentiment is not only expressed by extremist parties: it is also visible in general public discourse," he said. "We have the responsibility to educate our youth to democratic, open-minded people who are able to build a society free from intolerance, discrimination and anti-Semitism."

The teaching materials were developed by ODIHR together with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and Lithuanian experts from the Yiddish Institute at the Faculty of History at the Vilnius University.

They have been approved for use in secondary schools by the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science.

The Lithuanian teaching tools form part of an international project on combating anti-Semitism by educational means. ODIHR is assisting 12 OSCE participating States with developing customized versions of the teaching materials.

Each country version covers the history and contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism, and looks at anti-Semitism as a form of discrimination.

Following the launch, professional teacher trainers will attend a two-day training seminar, delivered by the Lithuanian experts involved in the development of the material.

During his visit to Vilnius, Lenarcic also met Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas and attended the Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.