Shlichut Noar NFTY is a certification program for NFTY teens who are nominated to become peer-to-peer educators about Israel engagement and involvement.
The major goal of Shlichut Noar NFTY is to create a long lasting cohort of young Jews who will be lifelong proponents of dialogue about Israel while engaging their peers and influencing their Jewish Identities. NFTY, the Israel programs department and our camps all work tirelessly to provide quality programming for Reform Jewish teens.
This program will create a great synergy between these three departments when it comes to Israel education as a component of programming – and between the staffs of each department. This mounting energy will benefit all teens who are affiliated with the Reform Movement, not just those who attend this program. As a result of this experience, participants will individually have a strong Jewish identity with connection to Israel as an integral component of that identity and will become competent, engaging, effective peer educators that are respected by their NFTY region, Regional camp, synagogue, and community.
I recently conducted a survey among the regional advisors in NFTY and discovered that our educational agenda in the 19 NFTY regions comes largely from the teen leadership. I learned that often, Israel education is not a high priority among the teens and that when it is, advisors are limited in their resources. For this reason, it is essential to empower our teen leaders to be proponents of engaging Israel dialogue in the NFTY regions.
The major goal of Shlichut Noar NFTY is to create a long lasting cohort of young Jews who will be lifelong proponents of dialogue about Israel while engaging their peers and influencing their Jewish Identities. NFTY, the Israel programs department and our camps all work tirelessly to provide quality programming for Reform Jewish teens.
This program will create a great synergy between these three departments when it comes to Israel education as a component of programming – and between the staffs of each department. This mounting energy will benefit all teens who are affiliated with the Reform Movement, not just those who attend this program. As a result of this experience, participants will individually have a strong Jewish identity with connection to Israel as an integral component of that identity and will become competent, engaging, effective peer educators that are respected by their NFTY region, Regional camp, synagogue, and community.
I recently conducted a survey among the regional advisors in NFTY and discovered that our educational agenda in the 19 NFTY regions comes largely from the teen leadership. I learned that often, Israel education is not a high priority among the teens and that when it is, advisors are limited in their resources. For this reason, it is essential to empower our teen leaders to be proponents of engaging Israel dialogue in the NFTY regions.
The power of peer to peer influence is undeniable. In a study of birthright Israel alumni in 2002, 96% had encouraged peers to go on the trip – and as a result 55% went and another 22% applied but didn’t go. The success of websites such as yelp.com, tripadvisor.com and applications such as Urbanspoon (which all rely on people’s submitted reviews rather than on facts given by employees or professionals) speak to the weight of peer influence. Our focus and efforts clearly are best spent in empowering members of our youth communities – in NFTY, in our camps and in our synagogues – to return home with the ability to open discussions about Israel in their own communities. The message that Israel needs our unquestioning support no longer resonates with our teens. The best form of Israel advocacy is now empowering individuals to tell their personal story and to see their own experiences as part of Israel’s collective narrative. We must help our teenagers feel obligated, empowered and excited to initiate this dialogue in order to solidify a strong Jewish identity and a lifelong engagement with Israel...
Project InCiTE helped me to do the research necessary to identify the need for this project. Without the guidance of the coaches, sponsors and SIT teachers, I don’t think I would have had the perspective needed to create this idea. Project InCiTE’s aim of identifying innovative approaches to Israel engagement programs was achieved through helping educators like me slow down and take the time to apply some of SIT inventive thinking tools to our own organizations to find gaps and ways to fill them. Furthermore, there are a few fellows who have complimentary projects that all focus on the idea of empowering teens to inspire their peers on various aspects of Israel engagement. The dialogue between educators will hopefully be valuable to the field as we work together, share our successes and struggles and learn from each other while enjoying the synergy that this will bring to all of our projects! I am very grateful to Project InCiTE's sponsors iCenter and BJENY-SAJES for the opportunity to work with educators around the country and brainstorm with them to continually raise the bar on our approach to helping teens create meaningful and profound connections with Israel.
My hope is that in 5 years, Shlichut Noar NFTY will be an established program where each year teens and advisors look forward to nominating their shaliach and welcoming them back to the region after their seminar in Israel. Furthermore, I hope that graduates of this program go on to be active on their college campuses and beyond while feeling the obligation of continuing their shlichut well after their years in NFTY.
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