September 7, 2004
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM CALLS STUDENT LEADERS TO ACTION ON SUDANESE GENOCIDE
WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience will host student leaders from DC-area universities to assist them in developing student-led initiatives to address the ongoing genocide in Darfur. The students will be briefedat the Museum on Tuesday, September 14 at 8:00 p.m. about the situation in Sudanand begin creating action plans to mobilize students on college campuses to bring greater attention to the crisis.
“It’s vital to involve society’s future leaders in our effort to halt the genocide in Darfur,” says Committee on Conscience staff director Jerry Fowler. “By engaging students now, we hope to bring further attention to the crisis and show young people that they can make a difference.”
Holocaust Survivor Manya Friedman will share her testimony and explain why the situation in Darfur is of urgent importance. Devon Chaffee, a Georgetown Law student, will speak about her August trip to refugee camps in Chad where she interviewed more than 50 Darfurian refugees. Jerry Fowler will also give a presentation about his trip to refugee camps in Chad last May.
Following the program, students will begin developing ways to promote awareness of the genocide and encourage student action to address it. The Museum will provide materials to aid student organizers including information on online Darfur resources, strategies for mobilizing students on campus, fact sheets about the crisis, and photos from the region.
The Committee on Conscience has been closely monitoring the situation in Darfur. In May Committee Staff Director Jerry Fowler visited Sudanese refugee camps in Chad. In July the Committee issued its first ever “Genocide Emergency,” meaning that genocide in Darfur is imminent or actually occurring. A special display on Darfur is in the Museum’s Wexner Learning Center. More information can be found on the Museum’s continuously updated Web site, www.ushmm.org.
Students who wish to attend the program should contact Lisa Rogoff at 202-314-7818.
Media with questions or who would like to attend the program should contact Andy Hollinger at 202-488-6133 or ahollinger@ushmm.org.
