Joining the Jewish Future!

Participants at this year's Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly (GA) in New Orleans had a unique opportunity to imagine and shape the future of Jewish education and the Jewish community.

On November 8th, the GA hosted the first-ever Jewish Futures Conference. This extraordinary event brought together visionary thinkers, passionate leaders, and fresh voices to chart a course for the future of Jewish learning and life.  "The goal of the conference," stated Harlene Appelman, Executive Director of the Covenant Foundation, one of the event's co-sponsors, "is to excite and stimulate thinking about the potential of creative and thoughtful Jewish education."  The conference did this, according to David Bryfman of New York's Jewish Education Project, a co-sponsor, "by providing a space to dream, learn, and engage in purposeful conversation.  At a time when the Jewish community is at a crossroads, this is an ideal opportunity to showcase some of the best thinking in the Jewish educational world."

The Jewish Futures Conference was keynoted by several provocative speakers, including Ori Brafman, acclaimed author of The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, and Laurie Karr, a marketing and branding expert on families and youth, who will explore the social, cultural, and technological trends that are shaping our world. Their talks were followed by a GA first: presentations on the implications of these trends for Jewish learning and life by several speakers being chosen from an open video competition.  "The competition is a way to ensure that emerging voices are given the respect and space they deserve," stated Bryfman.  "In today's world, ideas can come from all angles - established organizations and young people alike."

Participants in the conference also had a chance to add their own ideas to the mix.  There were opportunities to discuss how to bring new ideas to fruition in their own communities during roundtable discussions which will conclude the conference.  As with the mix of presenters, the aim was to attract a diverse group of participants.  "We believe that the conference was valuable for anyone who is involved in trying to enrich the Jewish present and future, and especially worthwhile for those who are themselves involved in transformational learning initiatives or have a major role in allocating resources for Jewish education," said Jonathan Woocher, Director of JESNA's Lippman Kanfer Institute, also a co-sponsor of the conference.

Bringing the Jewish Futures Conference to the General Assembly enhanced and broadened this premier event on the Jewish communal calendar.  "Our goal is to open the GA to new audiences through innovative and forward thinking programming like this conference," stated JFNA's Andrea Fram Plotkin, one of the key organizers of the event.  "We will be successful if participants made connections with stimulating ideas and other people and left inspired to try something new in their organization or community," added Bryfman.

Full coverage of the Jewish Futures Conference is available at www.jewishfutures.net.

The Jewish Futures Conference is sponsored by Jewish Education Project, The Covenant Foundation, JESNA's Lippman Kanfer Institute and The Jewish Federations of North America.

For general information and media relations contact: Rika Levin, Chief Marketing Officer, JESNA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 212-284-6703.

We would like to thank the Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation, the Covenant Foundation, and the Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation for their generous financial contributions to this conference.