Youngsters from more than 15 schools across Essex and Suffolk will be taking part in the annual Dora Love Prize this month.

East Anglian Daily Times: Holocaust survivor Dora Love. Picture: JERRY TURNER.Holocaust survivor Dora Love. Picture: JERRY TURNER.

The event is named after a Holocaust survivor, who, in the last 40 years of her life lived and worked in Colchester.

Her aim was to teach younger generations about the attitudes which made the Holocaust possible – intolerance and discrimination and hatred of those regarded as ‘different’ – and that they are still around us today.

The event will see youngsters from Years 7 to 10 create projects embodying these values.

Prize founder and organiser, Emeritus Professor Rainer Schulze said: “At a time when nationalistic and populist groups are on the rise again and feel they can spread their messages of hate and racism with impunity, when people are being marginalised because of their origin, the colour of their skin or their religious beliefs, when facts are derided as ‘fake news’, the Dora Love Prize is more important than ever to give young people a firm understanding that similar developments in the past have led to mass murder, genocide and the horrors of the concentration camps.

“The Dora Love Prize also wants to encourage students to come up with activities they can undertake in their communities to uphold civil liberties and human rights, the founding stones of civilised societies.”

The event will be held at the University of Essex on September 26, with the prize awarded to the best project.

The winner will create something which reflects Dora’s main principles: speaking up against hatred, never forgetting the consequences of seemingly small acts of discrimination, and developing a sense of personal responsibility.

Dale Banham, deputy headteacher at Northgate High School, in Ipswich, helped establish the prize in 2012 and his school has taken part since.

“Activities that go beyond the curriculum are really important – they’re the experiences people remember from their school days,” he said.

“The prize supports several subject areas. It helps with the arts as students express ideas around the Holocaust through creative channels, English in terms of students’ use of language and ability to speak and perform in public, and history by deepening their understanding of the Holocaust.”