BBYO International Programs

Main article: BBYO

BBYO International Programs are a variety of programs held on an annual basis for members of BBYO (B'nai B'rith Youth Organization) from all over the world. The programs include leadership, educational, social and community service opportunities, held both during the school year and in the summer.

Programs during the school year

International Convention

International Convention (IC) is held every year in February. International, regional and council leaders meet to discuss the goals of the organization, and elect international boards for the next year. A more business-oriented portion of the convention specifically for regional and council presidents is referred to as "Feb Execs", which takes place before the convention starts.

The convention includes programming organized by the international boards and international chairs. Other convention features include a shuk (Hebrew for "market") where members have the opportunity to buy and sell clothing and other BBYO merchandise with other regions.

International Convention concludes with the elections of the new international boards for the following school year. The newly elected officers do not take office, however, until International Execs the following August.

International Execs

International Execs is held every year in August. Regional and council leaders (typically newly elected to office) meet for the first time, before the school year begins, to discuss goals for the coming year. Additionally, international officers begin and end their terms during this convention. Execs is always held in Washington, DC, home of BBYO's international office.

March Of The Living

The March Of The Living (MOTL, or simple "the March") was participated in every other year, occurring in late April and early May until 2008 when the decision was made to make the March and annual occurrence. The March is a 2-week educational program about genocide awareness, which includes a trip to Poland (including visits to Holocaust concentration camps and pre-World War II Jewish communities) and Israel. Although this program is run by an independent organization, BBYO sends a large delegation on an annual basis, and assists in the planning and organizational aspects for its members, who participate as a separate group in the program.

Summer programs

Chapter Leadership Training Conference

Chapter Leadership Training Conference (CLTC) is a 12-day program for up-and-coming chapter leaders, where they learn about the history and traditions of BBYO and get experience that will help them to be effective leaders on the local level. Currently, CLTC is held at both B'nai B'rith Beber Camp in Wisconsin and Bethany College in West Virginia, comprising eight different sessions. Sessions 1,3,5,7, and 8 are located at Beber Camp and sessions 2,4, and 6 are located at Bethany College.

International Leadership Training Conference

International Leadership Training Conference (ILTC) a 2-week program for more experienced leaders in the organization. Attendees typically have already served in leadership roles on the chapter level and have been elected to positions on council or regional board. Likewise, many attendees have also attended CLTC in the past. (Neither of these stipulations, though, is necessary for attendance.) ILTC, held at B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp, helps hone leadership skills and give teens the tools they need to help run the organization back in their home communities.

International Kallah

Kallah is an intensive 3-week Judaic seminar in which attendees explore Judaism as both a religion and a culture, in the quest for their own personal Judaism. As a purely educational program, Kallah is available to any member wanting to deepen their knowledge and understanding of their religion. Kallah is offered at the B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp.

Passport 2 Israel

Passport 2 Israel (P2I) is the umbrella for BBYO's many programmatic offerings in Israel. This includes a standard 3-week Israel journey, as well as extensions that allow participants to customize their trip: hiking, community service, kibbutz and exploring Europe. In addition, International Leadership Seminar in Israel (ILSI), the only P2I offering open only to BBYO members, includes a strong leadership component similar to ILTC.

IMPACT

IMPACT is a 12-day-long program focused on community service and located at either Brandeis University in Waltham, MA or University of Maryland in College Park, MD. Unlike most community service programs, IMPACT focuses on how to gain important skills and applying them to not only the teens' project sites, but to the work they do at home. IMPACT Boston takes place at service sites relating to activism, while IMPACT DC takes place at sites relating to advocacy. The now defunct IMPACT Chicago took place at sites relating to philanthropy but was removed due to lack of attendance. Teens also learn how community service relates to Judaism. IMPACT started as Project Impact, which was formerly a 2-week program called Nitzotz and Operation Shema. When it was Operation Shema, it was offered in Baltimore, Maryland, and attendees were housed on the campus of Towson University. Service was often done in urban environments, with an emphasis given to the Judaic aspects of community service.

Ambassadors To Bulgaria

For over a decade, BBYO sent North American and Israeli teens on missions to Bulgaria for two weeks to meet with their Jewish counterparts there. (Bulgaria has one of the largest BBYO programs outside of North America.) The program took place during the school year. On Nov. 2, 2007, BBYO announced that the program will be run as a summer program in the future, and possibly called the Bulgaria Summer Program. Details about this new program are forthcoming.

See also

External links

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