On Thursday 22 September we hosted a special online event with our Young Ambassadors, sharing their creative responses and reflections from our first residential trip to the Lake District

Earlier in the summer, Anne Frank Workers and 17 young people from across England and Scotland travelled to Lake Windermere for a three day trip to further their learning and develop their confidence in challenging prejudice.

The showcase profiled a selection of the creative work our young people were inspired to produce as part of the residential, and also allowed them to share their reflections on what they learnt during their time in the Lakes.

The power of words

We were excited to hear first-hand from our Ambassadors Maryam, Jana, Khadija, Anjuman, Samantha, James, Bianca, Lexia, Olivia and Abigail as they read us their creative writing pieces

It was extremely powerful to hear directly from the young people involved. They shared how the trip really expanded their learning, introducing them to the story of The Windermere Children, who many of them had not heard of before. As well as helping them to feel confident in working with new people and using their voices, the residential was a chance for our Ambassadors to understand how powerful they can be in achieving a world free from prejudice.

Read a selection of their creative pieces below

Maryam - The Beauty in Being Different

James - In the Forest

The legacy of the Windermere Children

Trevor Avery from the Lake District Holocaust Project spoke at the event. During the residential he had taken our Ambassadors around an exhibition on the Windermere Children and spoke at depth about their unique story. He expressed how impressed he was by the young people’s ability to really listen and ask profound questions, and how fully engaged and immersed they were in learning about the history of the 300 orphaned Jewish refugees who began new lives in England’s Lake District in the summer of 1945

“...it’s really emotional to hear young people’s responses to this...most of the young ambassadors would be the same age as The Windermere Children and it always sends an extra bit of energy through me to realise that...”

We also heard from Author Tom Palmer, who attended the residential and spoke to our Ambassadors about his book, After the War, which follows the experiences of the Windermere Children. During the residential Tom demonstrated to the young people the power of creative writing in telling important stories and reflecting on antisemitism and prejudice.

“ I think it’s absolutely fantastic that you’ve chosen to be part of The Anne Frank Trust’s Ambassadors work, so that you can help get the message across, the sort of message I’m trying to get across by writing After the War... Coming up and meeting you all was wonderful...the questions you asked...just were brilliant...just well done, I thought it was excellent”

A powerful story from a Holocaust survivor

We were very honoured to welcome Holocaust Survivor, Dr Agnes Grunwald-Spier MBE to our showcase event. Sharing her story, Dr Grunwald-Spier helped the young people to reflect on the history at the heart of their work as Anne Frank Ambassadors. She spoke of how important it is to keep Anne Frank’s story at the forefront, constantly learning, and understanding the impact of the Holocaust and the dangers of prejudice.

We would like to extend big thank you to all the young people, parents, and supporters who joined us for this special event. It was so moving to hear from everyone and to see how impactful our first residential trip has truly been.

“I would want nothing more than for young people to take this story on...you, youngsters are the future, that’s the legacy. Anne was a young person, her legacy is reflected in you...and from where I am the future looks pretty secure...” - Trevor Avery, Lake District Holocaust Project