UNESCO’s Heather Mann: Australia ’starting from scratch’
UNESCO’s Heather Mann says Australian schools lack the tools and guidance to confront rising antisemitism.
UNESCO project officer Heather Mann has told The AJN that Australia’s education system is in some ways starting from scratch on antisemitism.
The AJN spoke to Mann, who coordinates UNESCO’s work addressing antisemitism through education, at a training session in Sydney earlier this month, where educators from nearly every state and territory were brought together to learn to deliver sessions to teachers and schools nationally.
The program was initiated by Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal, who engaged UNESCO and commissioned a pilot from her office’s budget. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has since provided additional funding to expand it. An agreement was signed with the Department of Home Affairs on December 13, 2025 — the day before the Bondi Beach Chanukah attack.
Mann said the original plan was to move through one state at a time over two years.
“The Bondi Beach attack changed everything,” she said.
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