International Youth Speaker Program
(available in-person or virtually)
Roslyn Franken's mother was from Rijssen in the Netherlands and her father from Semarang in the former Dutch East Indies. While her mother survived the concentration camps in Nazi Europe including Auschwitz, her father survived the Nagasaki atomic bomb as a prisoner of war in Japan.
In these times of growing division and adversity and with rising teen depression and suicide, young people everywhere need to hear Roslyn's story of amazing survival, love and triumph over tragedy NOW more than ever! In 2023, Roslyn traveled to the Netherlands to speak for students at Maurick College in the town of Vught located near the site of Camp Vught, the first concentration camp where her mother was held prisoner before being sent to Auschwitz. When the Gymnasium Beekvliet school in Sint-Michielsgestel found out that Roslyn was coming to the Netherlands to speak, they jumped on the opportunity and invited Roslyn to speak for their school as well. These events marked Roslyn's live speaking debut in Europe and received media attention on DTV Nieuws Dutch television and the Brabants Dagblad Dutch newspaper. She had her virtual speaking debut in the Netherlands in 2022 where she spoke at Maurick College via Zoom which received newspaper media attention in Het Kalverblad Dutch newspaper (see article to the right). In February 2024, Roslyn will be speaking for a Global Citizenship program where a school in the Netherlands is partnering with schools in Ottawa Canada. |