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 October 24, 2005 |
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Dear Board Member, JDC established Hillel in the FSU in partnership with International Hillel and The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation. Today, there are an estimated 75,000-80,000 Jewish university students in the former Soviet Union, and over 10,000 of those students are active participants in Hillel programs. Now imagine yourself a young Hillel director in the former Soviet Union. You are a potential force for dynamic change and you may very well hold in your hands the key to established Jewish activity for the younger generation. But what are your qualifications for this enormous responsibility? You are the first member of your family in 75 years to be actively Jewish; you and your 20-plus-year-old friends are students; some of you have "grown up" in Hillel and you are now committed to playing a leading role in the Jewish renaissance in your community. But while your American counterpart heads a large team and typically holds an advanced degree or rabbinical ordination, you and your fellow FSU Hillel directors are almost all students between the ages of 21 and 28 and all of you, in fact, are managing your peers. Yosif Akeselrud, who founded the Kiev Hillel in 1995 and is now Director of Hillel Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and FSU Asian Republics, explains another significant difference: "Because the FSU has no campuses, Hillel here is a community-based organization and plays a meaningful role in all community events." As a major part in the community, Hillel has a responsibility to educate both the students and the greater Jewish population about Judaism. In addition, those involved feel that there are many young Jews whom Hillel does not reach, and this presents a major organizational challenge. While Hillel directors are creative, hard working and highly motivated, most of them have no previous management experience. Until recently, their training was strictly on-the-job. Dr. Anna Purinson, Director of Hillels in Russia and, at 27 years old, a veteran of the organization, said, "To meet new challenges, Hillel should be more resourceful and turn professional. It simply has to improve, or it will lose out to other non-Jewish social options that exist." In order to improve the skills of its directors, the Hillel program partnered with JDC’s Buncher Leadership Program, which is funded by JDC Board member Bernita Buncher, for a two-year leadership training course that consisted of six seminars and concluded in August 2005. The Buncher Program is based on the belief that professional leadership goes beyond the performance of certain tasks and begins with a clear organizational vision that includes the role of the director. The first year of training allowed the directors to analyze Hillel as an organization and to explore their own role as directors. At the end of that first year, they took home a very handy practical accomplishment – a comprehensive plan for their Hillel. The second year was devoted to advanced learning that focused on deepening the participants’ self-awareness and building the stronger professional identity crucial for effective leadership. Misha Levin, Hillel Director for St. Petersburg, summed up his experience: "The seminar helped me to realize my role in Hillel as a director and to determine my management style." Because it was custom-built for FSU Hillel, the program took time to focus on the unique situation of a FSU Hillel Director. The participants analyzed their role in relationship to the larger Jewish community in their city. They clarified their own attitudes towards their organizational environment, and explored outside-the-box methods of dialogue and negotiation. In addition to a focused approach to content, the facilitators tailored the methods to be appropriate to the young leaders. The participants were taken on an enriching journey, with the emphasis on an interactive approach. Lectures were kept to a minimum in favor of discussions, video presentations, outdoor cooperation games (such as those popularly utilized on corporate retreats), simulations and role-play. Eugene Shavzis, Hillel Director in Tashkent, enthusiastically remarked: "Because of the different teaching methods, I didn’t feel tired once! It was fascinating." Anna Purinson summarized the program as a whole: "Buncher provided a structured, comprehensive program that answered the needs of the professionals in the field. It was not a set program, but was constantly modified in response to the needs of the participants. In five years, Hillel will be more professional; we would like to have people staying on for longer periods of time and to develop a core of long term Jewish professionals. I am optimistic that the training will help with staff retention and will also allow our professionals to move on to fulfill other leadership positions in the Jewish community." There is no doubt that this two-year leadership training course will make an enormous difference in the lives of Hillel students in the FSU, and Ellen and I are very proud that JDC, through the Buncher Leadership Program, is an integral part of the process. Until next time, Steve P.S. – Once again, my column is out a day early – our office is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday in honor of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Shmini Atzeret celebrates the eighth and final day of Sukkot and the end of the harvest period in Israel, while Simchat Torah celebrates the completion and the beginning again of reading the five books of the Torah each Shabbat in the synagogue. Ellen and I wish all of you very happy holidays.
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