Young Leaders Program
Imagine what life must have been like for people your age who were trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. They faced certain death. Yet despite the odds, they fought in the largest Jewish uprising in Nazi-controlled Europe.
You have a special opportunity to learn about them and to share their story with your generation. Their struggle in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising still speaks to us today.
POLIN Museum invites students from around the world, ages 12 to 18, to commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by participating in POLIN Museum’s Young Leaders Program. POLIN Museum would like you to join the campaign. If you are interested in leadership opportunities and interested in Holocaust education, here is your chance.
How to participate in the Young Leaders Program? >>
- Join our Campaign as a Young Leader for your class.
- Ask a teacher to work with you.
- Plan a simple way to commemorate (see below for ideas) for at least one of your classes between now and the week of 19 April 2022.
- To be considered for the program, submit the required documents, with the plan of your program. For more details, read the information below.
Meet our 2022 Young Leader Ambassador:
Hailey, a 12 year old from Israel joined the Young Leaders Program last year, and successfully completed the necessary steps to fulfill the program's requirements.
She was an excellent communicator and was a real leader in her classroom. She sent amazing photos from the day she shared about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising with her class. The theme for the 2021 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Campaign was about the women who fought in the uprising.
Hailey helped other students in her class learn about the women and young people who arose for justice and dignity in the uprising. She led her class in making the official yellow daffodils for the campaign. Because of her enthusiasm, she was able to help educate her fellow students concerning the events of uprising.
Hailey was chosen to represent this year’s program as the 2022 ambassador. We encourage students who are between the ages of 12-18, to join our program and share with their fellow students about what this commemorative event means to you, and why we should remember this piece of Holocaust history.
How to commemorate the anniversary of the Uprising?
There are many easy ways to let your friends know about what happened on 19 April, 1943, and to inspire them. Be creative and come up with something simple that can clearly be shared with your community about the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Here are some ideas that you could do for your participation in the program.
- Download instructions for making POLIN Museum’s paper daffodils. Invite your friends to help you make them, and pass them out to others.
- Take a photo of yourself and your friends wearing the daffodils in your hometown or at your school.
- Take a class photo online using Zoom or other online video conferencing applications. Have the participants wear the daffodil or hold the campaign poster. Post the photos on social media on 19 April, 2022 with the campaign hashtag: #WarsawGhettoUprising.
- Please note: The student and teacher must ask all students in group photos for permission to post photographs online before taking and submitting the photo.
- Ask a teacher to help you develop a presentation about the Warsaw ghetto uprising that you can share online with your class, or other online community groups.
- Organize an online screening and discussion of "There Was No Hope" with students and teachers. (Recommend for high school students).
- Make a video on your Facebook and social media pages, sharing why it is important for students today to commemorate this piece of Holocaust history.
Requirements
- Must be 12-18 years of age.
- Must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Only one student per class or group can apply to the program.
- Must have an interest in Holocaust education.
- Must have teacher and parent/guardian approval to join the program.
- Must have a teacher who is willing to assist student during the program.
- Must submit your work with a short description of your work and photos as proof of participation to the International Coordinator by 25 April, 2022.
- Must communicate with the coordinator if unable to supply the necessary items on time for participation.
How to apply
- Please provide your basic information (name, age, location, school, name of teacher), and ask a parent or guardian to sign the consent and application forms. Email the signed documents to the International Coordinator, Mary Seidler: [email protected] no later than 1st April 2022.
Once the Young Leaders Program Board has reviewed your application and consent form, the International Coordinator will inform you of their decision by email.
Please be advised that students who participate in the Young Leaders Program will be featured on our Young Leaders Program website, and Friends of POLIN Facebook page, in accordance with the signed parent/guardian consent form submitted as part of the application process. - Choose a program from the ideas listed above, and let the International Coordinator know what your plan for participating in the program will be.
- Get started! Put your plan into motion, and then send your work via email to the International Coordinator by this deadline: APRIL 25, 2022. For larger files such as videos, please use WeTransfer.
- Your work will be reviewed by the Young Leaders Board, and you will be notified if you have successfully completed the program by the end of April 2022.
When submitting your work
- Please do not alter photos or include emojis.
- Please avoid profanity or other inappropriate content.
- Students who fail to comply with the standards of the Young Leaders Program will be disqualified.
- Each Young Leader will receive a small gift for their participation at the end of the school year
The Young Leader Ambassador for 2023
- Each 2022 Young Leader may be considered for the honor of 2023 Young Leader Ambassador. This is based upon if the student successfully completed the program, and what level of participation they were able to do. Watch for the announcement in the summer of 2022.
Why do I need parental permission to participate?
Since Young Leaders are required to post photos and video on social media and because these images will also appear on POLIN Museum’s website and social media platforms, many countries require institutions such as POLIN Museum to provide consent forms in compliance with Polish, and international legal requirements when involving students.
Why do I need to work with a teacher?
Each student must work with at least one teacher and must get permission to participate in various activities.
- Hanging posters on the school campus
- Giving speeches to student bodies
- Showing a film
- Making paper daffodils and handing them out
- Delivering speeches in classrooms or other school spaces
- Holding moments of silence
What if I want to do something creative that’s not listed?
Please contact our International Coordinator [email protected] with your ideas and with any other questions you might have.
How many students per class can sign up?
We request that only one student per class can sign up for the program.
Each year POLIN Museum chooses a youth to represent the Young Leaders Program as our YLP Ambassador. The teens that were chosen had participated in previous editions, and showed themselves to be great examples in their classrooms and communities. They came up with creative ways to educate their peers about the events of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in a meaningful way and that which was appropriate for their age group. Every person who participates and successfully completes the Young Leader Program will be considered for the distinction of being the YLP Ambassador.
2020-2021 - Ben from Israel
Ben began participating in the YLP since 2019, and based upon his excellent work ethic and his creative ideas to commemorate the Uprising in his community, he was chosen for the 2020 YLP Ambassador position. Unfortunately due to the circumstances with the COVID-19 epidemic, most schools were closed and online internationally.
Ben still founds ways to safely share about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Campaign and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising with his community in Israel. Therefore, he was chosen as a second time to represent the program. This was also in hopes that students would be able to return back to in person learning. In fact this did happen, and Ben was able to take the Campaign to higher heights. As he was able to get his city involved with the Campaign, and incorporate it with their annual Yom HaShoah event. In addition to this, he invited new students to join the YLP, and help the program to grow there in Israel.
2022 - Hailey from Israel
Hailey found out about the YLP from her mother, who was a big fan of POLIN Museum. So in 2021, she signed up for the program, and successfully worked with her teaching to make an incredible lesson for her classroom. She led her in making the official Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Campaign yellow daffodils, and explained their symbolism. Then she divided the class into five groups, and each received a personal bio of a character who participated in the uprising, which she prepared ahead of time.
The characters were Marek Edelman, Cywia Lubetkin, Mordechai Anielewicz, Paweł Frenkel, and Simcha Rotem (Kazik). Each group had to learn about their character and present him/her to the class in a creative way. They had a week to work on their presentation. One group staged an interview on the news, another presented their character as they lit a memorial candle and recited words of commemoration, while the others presented their character through a diary entry and as drama skits.
We look forward to your participation in the 2022 Young Leaders Program. You can make a difference!