2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. On 25 March 1807 the Slave Trade Abolition Act was passed in Parliament. Slave owning in the Americas continued for some decades but the pernicious trade was over. Along with hundreds of other organisations Tzedek is marking this important anniversary. The historical commemoration focuses attention on a part of global history whose ramifications still rumble on today, and we also focus attention on contemporary forms of slavery which is manifested in many forms and still affects millions of people.

Along with fellow members of the Make Poverty History Jewish Coalition we are urging individuals and Jewish organisations to sign up to Anti Slavery International's decaration against slavery during the period of the Omer from Pesach to Shavuot (23 May) - http://www.antislavery.org.uk/2007/actionsign.php - and we are also encouraging people to use educational materials in their homes, especially during the Pesach seders, and in the community. Please feel free to download these materials produced by Tzedek and colleagues in the Jewish Coalition.

Downloads:

LJ Haggadah Supplement 5767 Download >>

MPHJC Pesach Pamphlet v2 5767 Download >>

Please submit a brief letter of inquiry, NO MORE THAN TWO PAGES LONG, to include the following information:

Slavery - story of abolition + action points Download >>

Slavery - updated 2002 pesach booklet Download >>

About The Education Programme Group

The Educational Programmes Group (EPG) has been set up to address one of Tzedek's two principle aims: "To educate people, particularly in the Jewish community, about the causes and effects of poverty and the Jewish obligation to respond."

To achieve this aim, we are working towards a three-fold objective, through three primary methods:

EPG Three-fold objective:

Educate Factually

Increasing knowledge and awareness among the Jewish community about development issues, their causes and effects, and why these issues are relevant to us

Educate Jewishly

increasing awareness of the Jewish responsibility to respond to development issues and the core Jewish values which inform our response, and increasing the commitment of the Jewish community to respond to these issues as Jews.

Educate Actively

Increasing commitment to actively engage in development issues, increasing knowledge about the range and value of different types of active involvement, and opening up opportunities for active involvement.

EPG's Three Primary Methods:

Human resources

We will recruit and train Tzedek educators, to educate in the aforementioned 3 ways. These educators may be past Tzedek volunteers, or other interested individuals. We will provide training in educational methodology, subject research and presentation, as well as marketing and other associated skills. We will help to facilitate the educational programmes that they run, and will offer mentoring and ongoing support to ensure they develop their skills, knowledge and interests. We hope to offer training in Jewish development education for other educators, rabbis and the like who wish to broaden their knowledge of the field. We will produce a database of educators from within and outside of Tzedek, and match up interested groups with appropriate educators.

Material Resources

We will produce educational resources on a range of development issues and Jewish values, for use within Tzedek and for the wider public. We will engage in continuous research of existing resources in the field, and offer guidance on how to use available resources most effectively. We will produce web-based educational material, accessible through the Tzedek website.

We hope to produce regular educational updates for use within Tzedek, to develop knowledge of development issues and Jewish values within the organisation.

Markets

In order for the previous two pieces to be effective, we need to open up the market. We will train Tzedek fieldworkers to access a wide range of communities - youth movement/clubs, synagogues, chedarim, Jewish and non-Jewish schools, university J-socs, etc - and develop an ongoing relationship between these communities and Tzedek.

We will develop a wide range of methods in which communities can engage with Tzedek and can explore Jewish development education. Alongside the wider community, Tzedek itself is a key 'market' for us to access, and we hope to develop methods of engaging the entire Tzedek community in Jewish development education.