The idea behind Jerusalem Ambassador Fellowship designed by Project InCiTE Fellow Efron Sturmwind is to create a year-long program for Jewish teens attending public high school.
The program is split into two components. The first part consists of a five week traveling tour in Israel, leaving June 30, 2010 and returning Aug 3, 2010. The summer program will highlight the importance of Israel both culturally, politically and religiously. The teens will partake in touring, hiking, and experiencing the physical land and its historical significance. Some unique features of the summer component include a tour of security fence by noted scholar Neil Lazarus, a day in the Knesset speaking to members of the Knesset and understanding the Israeli political process, and a leadership seminar from the Dale Carnegie institute.
The second portion of the program throughout the school year will consist of seven follow up sessions. The Jerusalem Ambassadors will have the chance to hear from Jewish and political leaders, and learn about the ins and outs of lobbying for Israel. The teens will also have the chance to organize their own educational trip to Washington, as well as create programs to bring new forms of Israel education into their immediate communities, JCC’s and public schools.
The fellowship allows high school students from different backgrounds to become educated in Israel studies, and ultimately place them within the position of educators and “Ambassadors” for Israel. The students will benefit from this fellowship as they will take on new roles of leadership and strengthen their own understanding of Jewish identity. The teens will also enrich the lives of those in their Jewish communities. NCSY currently does not have such a program within its breadth of programs, and therefore this fellowship will fill a new and innovative niche for the organization and for new teens.
Project InCiTE caught up with Fellow Efron Sturmwind to find out more about this project. Read on…
Hi Efron. Where did the idea for The Jerusalem Ambassador Fellowship come from?
National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) found that the summer and year long programs were not attractive to students who are intellectually motivated and politically minded. Many other summer programs and year long trips are fun and exciting but often lack the more serious component. The idea for the fellowship came about as we were talking to students and found that many were looking for internships throughout the summer or more prestigious and academically oriented programs. Teens are concerned about their resumes and college applications and therefore this program would be a perfect match for such interests. NCSY decided to take an incredible touring program and combine such a schedule with an intensive leadership and academically challenging component.
What demographic are you trying to reach? Will this project fill a void in Jewish education? If so, how?
The Jerusalem Ambassador fellowship intends to appeal to a specific niche of students. As many Jewish teens attend public high schools, they often lack much Jewish education. This program in particular intends to cater to an intellectually motivated student who attends public high school. Their drive for knowledge will now find a place within Jewish and Israel education. Within the current, public school system no such education exists and while such programs exist for teens within Jewish day schools, often the remainder of teens are excluded. The Jerusalem Ambassador will take a fun and educational summer experience combined with their drive for education and educate those in their local communities about Israel and Jewish values. The Jerusalem Ambassador fellowship will create a new generation of leaders and advocates for Israel.
Do you believe it would have been possible to pursue this project without being a part of Project InCiTE? Yes? No? How has Project InCiTE helped you along the way?
Though the concept for the project existed prior to Project InCiTE, Project InCiTE has been of great help in shaping the logistical and fundamental educational aspects of the fellowship. With the assistance of my coach Clare, I have learned a great deal about the logistics of not only creating a program but creating the theory behind the program in order to maximize successful results. The creation of proper budgets and write ups for the program has been invaluable.
Project InCiTE, and sponsors iCenter and BJENY-SAJES, have assisted in pinpointing the educational components to best achieve successful results. The measurements process of the program has been already been helpful to us in formulating one main outlook for a successful future Jerusalem Ambassador program next summer. Although the program may have existed even without the help of Project InCiTE, the nature and professionalism of the program would have been completely different.
What do you have to do next to make this project happen? Where do you see this project in the future - 5 years down the road?
The Jerusalem Ambassador trip to Israel and follow up lecture series is taking place this upcoming summer and school year on a smaller scale than anticipated being that this is the pilot year. By next year, NCSY hopes for 45 participants in the Jerusalem Ambassador fellowship. In the future, I see the program accommodating other specific interests outside of politics and into other areas of professional life in Israel. We hope for future Jerusalem Ambassador summer programs to consist of various key components of Israel society such as the technological sector, business and medical fields. Each trip would then include programming and follow up lectures related to Judaism and Israel views on such areas of interest.
If you are interested in learning more about Efron, visit his blog page HERE. Please feel free to leave your comments for Efron, or thoughts about the project, below.
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