We speak with two key figures from the Anne Frank Trust UK about how the organisation is educating young people about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination.
The Anne Frank Trust UK is a vital organisation dedicated to preserving the legacy of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who became a symbol of resilience and hope during the Holocaust. Established in 1990, the trust seeks to educate individuals about the dangers of discrimination, racism, and antisemitism, drawing on Anne’s powerful story as a vehicle for promoting tolerance and understanding.
The trust’s core mission revolves around fostering respect and acceptance within diverse communities. By using Anne Frank’s life and writings as a foundation, the organisation aims to inspire young people to reflect on their values and actions, encouraging them to stand up against prejudice. The trust believes that by educating future generations, they can contribute to a society that upholds equality and human rights for all.
Naomi Griffiths, Assistant Director of Education at the trust, details how the organisation works with schools: “We have three strands of learning that we offer schools. We offer in-person programmes, online courses, and an ambassador programme for students who are really invested in the topics we cover. All of our education programmes start with Anne Frank, and the Holocaust, and challenging antisemitism. And then from that we look at antisemitism and other forms of prejudice today.”
Beyond education, the Anne Frank Trust UK is committed to community outreach. The organisation collaborates with local communities, fostering dialogue and understanding among different cultural and ethnic groups. This outreach is particularly important in a time when social division and hostility can threaten community cohesion.
Naturally, the events of October 7th and the subsequent war in Gaza and Lebanon, have had an effect on how the trust teaches, as Naomi explains: “Previously, Israel-Palestine or Israel-Hamas wouldn’t always come up as a particularly strong topic, whereas now quite often we are asked about it quite early on
and we’re having conversations about it. Do work in schools with predominantly Muslim students where we having conversations about: ‘Was Anne Frank a Zionist?’ and other challenging questions like that. We’re really working on training and working with other organisations to make sure our staff are equipped to talk about these things more confidently.”
The trust recently held an event at Allerton High School, attended by members of the community and Leeds City Council, which Austen Garth, Jewish Community Engagement Manager, discusses: “We’re very keen that the Jewish community should have better knowledge about what we do as an organisation. So we chose to hold an event at Allerton High, because that’s right in the heart of the Jewish community and is a school that we’ve done a lot of work within the last few years. Together with the pupils we created an exhibition there of the work we do.”
The Anne Frank Trust also produces an Impact Report to track the effect it has on the students it teaches. The latest report showed that 83.8% of the young people taught progress in their knowledge of prejudice, and this increased knowledge drives a significant improvement in their social attitudes. The report also showed that 87.6% become more positive towards people from at least one of 12 social groups (Black, Christian, disabled, female, Gypsy Roma Traveller, Jewish, LGBTQ, male, Muslim, old, refugee, and white). The greatest progress is towards Jewish people, with 59.8% of the young people becoming more positive. Among Muslim young people, the proportion making pro- Jewish progress is even higher – at 65.7%.
Find out more about Anne Frank’s story and the work of the trust at Annefrank.org.uk
