Latest news from the Director of the Anne Frank Trust

This summer we commemorated what would have been the 79th birthday of Anne Frank on 12th June with a range of events. Special assemblies were distributed to primary and secondary schools throughout the UK, and a Parliamentary event attended by over 100 MPs, Lords and dignitaries welcomed the Anne Frank Declaration (signed by world leaders and thousands of children) back to Westminster to mark its tenth anniversary.

During the summer period, public Anne Frank exhibitions were held in Blackburn, Leeds, and Manchester. We took our exhibitions and workshops to schools in Tower Hamlets, Camden and Southwark, held an Anne Frank Youth Ambassadors training day at the Imperial War Museum, and held exhibitions and workshops in several prisons including Feltham Young Offenders' Institution. And even in August, teenagers in Peckham came to an Anne Frank two week summer holiday programme.

In July we held our fourth Anne Frank Awards ceremony, this time at the BBC Radio Theatre in Langham Place. The Anne Frank Awards recognise young people and educators who, through their outstanding actions and moral courage, have shown the spirit and values of Anne Frank.

This year's winners included Emma Speigler, a Jewish teenager from Hertfordshire, whose mother had battled with alcoholism. Emma started a support group, COAP (Children of Addicted Parents), to help youngsters like herself.

Our Award winners were taken on a 3 day VIP visit together to Amsterdam which of course included a visit to the Anne Frank House. From September we will be seeking nominations for the 2009 Anne Frank Awards and sponsors of special Anne Frank Awards in memory or in honour of loved ones.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to visit the Anne Frank project at the Jack Petchey Academy in Hackney. What an experience! The hard work you put in to projects in challenging areas is phenomenal. I particularly loved the team's ability to speak to the kids in the language they understood. They will remember these experiences perhaps for a lifetime. Very encouraging and inspirational!'
Michal Morris-Camille, Grants Manager, Connecting Communities

Coming up soon

Thanks to Mrs Daniela Pears and her friends who cycled to Amsterdam last year in support of the Anne Frank Trust, we now have a new compact travelling exhibition that is suitable for synagogues, schools and community centres. Based on our hugely popular A History for Today exhibition, it has some brand new panels looking at recent history, a film and accompanying books and educational materials. It is available for synagogues and schools from September.

"The exhibition and workshops were amazing, we had the chance of expressing our views but also realizing, at times we all go along with the crowd mentality, even if we think it is wrong." Year 9 student, Morpeth School, East London

A History for Today exhibition. The life of Anne Frank, the rise of the Nazi party, the history of the Second World War and the appalling consequences of the Holocaust are the threads that run through this exhibition. By placing complex historical events against the backdrop of the life of one young person, the exhibition enables visitors to gain a greater understanding of the terrible human consequences of persecution and war.

Look out for our newly revamped online bookshop which will be ready in September. This will include a special gift set for barmitzvahs, batmitzvahs, cheder prize-givings and special occasions. See www.annefrank.org.uk

Don't miss the wonderful new TV miniseries, The Diary of Anne Frank, which will be shown on BBC1 over 5 consecutive nights next January. Written by Deborah Moggach and starring the actors Tamsin Greig and Iain Glen, it will bring a new generation to Anne Frank's story. We will have educational resources for schools and cheders downloadable from our website in good time for the big event.

Our seventh annual lunch to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will take place this year in late January (date and speaker will be confirmed next week) at the London Hilton on Park Lane. This has become a notable event for the business community and attracts over 600 people each year in support of the work of the Anne Frank Trust. Tickets are available from the Trust's office - call 020 7284 5858.

To help us spread the Anne Frank message to even more young people, or to give a donation to the Trust, please call 020 7284 5858.