On December 10th 2020 SINCE 9/11 (with its partner, UCL Institute of Education) brought over 10,000 students from almost 300 UK secondary schools to an online event focusing on learning about 9/11 and why it remains of enormous relevance to them. The attendance reflects the importance placed by teachers on the lessons from 9/11 and subsequent terrorist attacks, and that knowledge of the causes and consequences of such events remain critical for young people’s education.
A panel of experts were hosted online by Lily Rosengard (gender and human rights advocate) and they shared their knowledge with the student audience. Speakers included:
- Sir Simon Schama CBE, University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University, New York.
- Sara Khan, UK government’s Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism
- Nicky Napier, whose husband Alex was killed in the 9/11 attacks
- Prof Martin Mills and Jeremy Hayward, UCL Institute of Education, who are conducting research for SINCE 9/11 on ‘Addressing Extremism in the Classroom’.
The event was endorsed by the DfE and Home Office. For SINCE 9/11 the event surpassed expectations with the volume of young people engaged at a time of debilitating Covid disruption in schools.