JDC, European Council of Jewish Communities Convene CEO Forum

First Forum of Directors establishes venue for European Jewish Leaders to network and share 'best practices'

NEW YORK---The American Jewish Joint Distribution today confirmed that more than 33 Jewish organizational leaders from 25 cities across Europe will attend the First Forum of Directors this week in Prague. The conference, co-sponsored by the European Council of Jewish Communities, will run from Feb. 8 to Feb. 12 at the Jewish Community Building of Prague. It will focus on strategies that will position Jewish communal organizations across Europe adapt to change and enable growth in the 21st century.

Participants will represent a wide spectrum in terms of the level of communal development in which they are working. Some participants will come from Jewish communities in Western Europe that are well-organized and completely self-sufficient. Other participants will come from Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe that are still emerging and remain in the process of establishing leadership bodies and fundraising models.

Like Jewish communal organizations in North America, the primary challenge for these leaders has been to engage a new generation and adapt to a younger lay-leadership base. To succeed in the 21st century, Jewish communal organizations must leverage the high levels of energy and creativity younger leaders bring to the table. European Jewish organizations are trying to create strategies that allow these leaders to take more of a hands-on role in the development of programs they chose to support. The First Forum of Directors will offer an opportunity for top professional leaders to share "best practices" in doing so and unite around a common vision for 21st century Jewish life in Europe.

Specific presentations include the challenges of Jewish organizations in the 21st century, main institutional dilemmas, role of the director, a Jewish model of management, fundraising strategies, and five-year goal setting.

"The underlying objective in all that JDC does in partnership with different European organizations is to strengthen Jewish communities through institutional development," said Alberto Senderey, director of JDC Europe. "This gathering is a response to the tremendous need for networking and ideas exchange between top-level Western and Eastern European Jewish communal professionals."

For a schedule of workshops and address for the Jewish Community Building of Prague please contact Joshua Berkman.