Nov 20, 2016
Jewish Teens Gather to Celebrate and Strengthen Jewish Life
Last week, more than 350 young adult Jewish leaders from the former Soviet Union (FSU) celebrated their role in strengthening Jewish life at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) Active Jewish Teens (AJT) 4th annual conference in Kharkov, Ukraine. Working together, Federation partners JDC and BBYO, the largest, pluralistic, Jewish teen movement, created AJT, which enables teens to explore and engage in the Jewish community and develop their Jewish identities. Today, the Young Leadership Division connects more than 3,000 teens through local chapters in 57 cities across the FSU.
The conference’s overall focus was on Jewish values, with more than 100 workshops that covered topics including tikkun olam (repairing the world), Jewish mutual responsibility, Jewish laws and customs, volunteerism best practices and more. A highlight of the conference was a session that mimicked the hit show “Shark Tank,” where five teens presented grassroots projects they wanted to implement in their own communities. The winner received a small grant to jumpstart their effort.
Dima Arutynov, 18, Co-President of AJT, said, “AJT has given me is a strong connection to Jewish culture and Judaism. This connection to my Jewish heritage is my source of inspiration and motivation to continue working on behalf of my community now and in the future.”
Teen participants learned from inspiring speakers: AJT teachers, graduates of JDC’s flagship Metusda leadership program, directors of youth clubs, and well-known local and Israeli educators to deepen their Jewish knowledge. And for the first time, American members of BBYO attended the conference in an effort to build a worldwide movement of Jewish young people. The gathering included participants from JDC and BBYO networks in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia and Israel.
