Several years ago, IDEAS was privileged to help gather and present the stories of Holocaust survivors and their families in their own words as part of an exhibit at The Holocaust Resource and Education Center of Florida. Just last month, I was invited to attend their annual dinner of tribute and there I learned of a program they are involved in that is near and dear to me- the prevention of bullying. Bullies are cowards and almost all bullying can be eliminated by knowing how to stand up if you are a victim AND more importantly, knowing how to take a strong position as a bystander. That’s called being an Upstander. I was so taken by what the center is doing, we met today to frame up how IDEAS might team up with them and create some tools that could help end this problem all over the world. It was one of those 30 minute meetings that went an hour and a half because no one wanted to leave. We’re going to take some of our own medicine and proceed with a StoryJam to do some design-thinking about a suite of eLearning and other products we could take out, first in the US where there are over 11,000 school systems all facing this problem, and then worldwide through synagogues, churches, youth organizations and other channels. Another reason I’m so glad IDEAS is in Orlando. In this community, we are small and connected enough to take direct action when its the right thing to do.
