August 18, 2009

The Paideia Project-Incubator 2009 – a Hothouse for European Jewish Creativity

We are delighted to have played host this August to 27 dedicated engineers-of-social-change from 13 countries: Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UK, and Ukraine.

During ten exceptionally warm and sunny days in Stockholm, the group - ranging from singers to community professionals to journalists - quickly transferred the high outdoor temperature into Paideia’s premises, working on their individual projects but with a collective vision – the furthering of Jewish culture in Europe.

A few examples of the projects include: a Jewish Genealogy and Travel Guide Center in the Ukraine, a German web-TV show, a Jewish Studies Seminar in Armenia and an environmental campaign for the UK.

We owe much of this year’s program’s success to our partnering sister organizations and their professional – and endearing - staff: Jumpstart, ROI Community / Center for Leadership Initiatives, Nachshonim, and JHub (the Jewish Social Action Hub). Thanks to all!

Finally, we would like to thank our generous sponsors of this year’s program: The European Jewish Fund (as part of the European Jewish Fund Leadership Program at Paideia) and UJA–Federation of New York.

Arie Zuckerman, Secretary General of the European Jewish Fund (EJF) commented: “through the program, these talented participants will be equipped with the professional tools needed to return to their communities and implement new programs and initiatives for the benefit of their communities. Project-Incubator is the best internship to actually use the tools acquired under the close guidance of the Paideia staff.”

For more information, please contact us at p.incubator@gmail.com