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Focal-Point-2019-Program-Booklet 2 www.olamtogether.org TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 From the Director’s Desk 6 About OLAM 8 Focal Point Schedule 16 Participants 42 Guest Experts 46 OLAM Staff 48 OLAM Partner Organizations by Category 54 OLAM Partner Organizations by Project Location 60 OLAM Board & Funding Partners FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK It's a pleasure to welcome you to OLAM's 4th Annual Focal Point gathering. OLAM's year-round community includes over 50 Jewish and Israeli organizations serving the world's most vulnerable people as well as individual Jews working in the fields of global service, international development, and humanitarian aid. Together, we galvanize the global Jewish community's commitment to addressing the world's most pressing challenges. This year's Focal Point is an honest and intimate space for practitioners to connect, build community, explore collaboration, and problem solve, while drawing upon Jewish wisdom as a source of inspiration. We are excited to welcome over 75 people from 45 different institutions - 60% of whom are Focal Point first-timers! The two-day retreat is loosely based on the 1st Century sage Hillel's famous quote: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when? (Ethics of the Fathers 1:14)." 4 www.olamtogether.org To live a life of responsibility, according to Hillel, we must be attentive to our own needs, act with a sense of obligation towards each other, and respond with urgency to the questions of the day. With this in mind, we will begin Focal Point by exploring sustainable practices of self-care and connecting as individuals. Next, we will connect on an organizational level, learning and problem-solving together. Finally, we will tackle some of the biggest challenges faced by the global Jewish service ecosystem and the world at large. Unlike some other conferences that focus on outside speakers, we believe that there is tremendous wisdom to be gained from each other. We, therefore, designed a variety of methodologies to tap your unique experience and expertise. We are excited to host you at Pearlstone Center both because its physical beauty makes it easy to "disconnect to connect" and because it's deeply rooted in Jewish values, sustainable practices, and a commitment to impactful immersive experiences. We hope you emerge rejuvenated and inspired by new insights, learnings, and connections and that, as a community, we will be empowered to work with even greater integrity and impact. Dyonna Ginsburg, Executive Director, OLAM #OLAMTogether | @OLAMtogether | OLAMtogether 5 ABOUT OLAM OLAM is a joint venture for promoting global Jewish service and international development, established in 2015. OLAM seeks to foster a diverse community of individuals and organizations working together to engage the Jewish world in global service and international development, as an expression of Jewish values. OLAM supports and catalyzes our community by connecting Jewish individuals and organizations working in global service and international development; communicating the value of their work to key influencers in the Jewish world; and convening stakeholders to galvanize Jewish commitment to global Jewish service and international development. 6 www.olamtogether.org JUNE 30 [THIS DAY'S ACTIVITIES ARE FULLY OPTIONAL] 6:00 PM REGISTRATION OPEN Retreat Center Lobby 7:00 PM DINNER Including Welcoming Committee meet up Post-dinner OPTIONAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES Prophets and Tribes Lounges For easy access to the schedule, updates, and setting meetings, download the Focal Point app. 8 www.olamtogether.org JULY 1 DAY 1 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM BOKER TOV (GOOD MORNING) PRACTICES (optional) Yoga - Citron Room Meditation - Vinyard Room Trail Walk - Meet outside Retreat Center entrance 8:00 AM REGISTRATION OPEN Retreat Center Lobby 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM BREAKFAST 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM WELCOME TO FOCAL POINT 2019: MAPPING THE COMMUNITY Jubilee Room Welcomes, introductions, a little bit of Jewish geography 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM BREAK 11:00 AM - 12:15 AM WELCOME CIRCLES Jubilee Room Getting to know each other and problem solving on the individual level #OLAMTogether | @OLAMtogether | OLAMtogether 9 JULY 1 DAY 1 12:15 PM - 1:00 PM LUNCH, Sponsored by JewishVeg 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM AFTERNOON PRACTICES Jewish Meditation Workshop - Vinyard Room Farm Tour, Edible Plant Hike, Lip Balm Making Workshop, Jam Making Workshop - Meet outside Retreat Center entrance 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM BREAK 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS Jewish Humanitarian Work: Going Behind the Scenes in Mozambique Citron Room When Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique in March and caused devastation to the region, Jewish and Israeli humanitarian organizations were some of the first to respond. Hear from those who were on the ground about the realities of providing humanitarian assistance after a natural disaster. MODERATOR: Eliran Douenias, JDC 10 www.olamtogether.org JULY 1 DAY 21 SPEAKERS: Danny Kahn, NATAN-International Humanitarian Aid Gal Yoffe, Israeli School of Humanitarian Action Mireille Flores, World Jewish Relief Locally-led Development: Are We Getting it Right? Willow Room Local ownership is key to achieving systemic change over time. We will explore how OLAM members are engaging local partners and voices through participatory and sustainable community development approaches to their work. MODERATOR: Matthew Breman, International Youth Foundation SPEAKERS: Kenneth Dsouza, Gabriel Project Mumbai Miriam Hartmann, RTI International Tamar Dekel, CoCuDi Center Examining the Ethics of Global Service Work through Jewish Texts Palm Room We will delve into Jewish sources and tradition to inform the questions: What does it mean to “serve” a community as an outsider? What is our responsibility toward others and to what we witness during our work and after we return home? FACILITATOR: Rabbi Aderet Drucker, The Den Collective #OLAMTogether | @OLAMtogether | OLAMtogether 11 #OLAMFocalPoint | @OLAMtogether | OLAMtogether 11 JULY 1 DAY 1 3:15 PM - 5:15 PM OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY: PROBLEM SOLVING ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL Beit Midrash Using Open Space methodology, we’ll self-organize around specific topics and questions for intimate and reflective discussions of inquiry, learning, and sharing, specifically focused on organizational challenges unique to international development and global service organizations. Bring it all to Open Space! 5:15 PM - 6:00 PM BREAK 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM RECEPTION Deck outside Jubilee room Unwind and Connect via One-on-Ones 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM DINNER 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM EVENING PROGRAM Community Bonfire 12 www.olamtogether.org JULY 2 DAYDAY 2 1 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM BOKER TOV (GOOD MORNING) PRACTICES (optional) Yoga - Citron Room Meditation - Vinyard Room Text Study - Prophets Lounge Trail Walk - Meet outside Retreat Center entrance 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM BREAKFAST 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM OLAMATHON Jubilee Room Modeled as a sort of global issues hackathon, we’ve sourced real world issues from practitioners of international development and global Jewish service, and we’ll work in teams to develop solutions (or the plan for solutions) drawing upon the deep experience and expertise of all of the participants of Focal Point 2019. Guest experts will join us to coach the teams and provide insights into practical problem solving. 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM LUNCH 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM GROUP PRESENTATIONS Jubilee Room #OLAMTogether | @OLAMtogether | OLAMtogether 13 JULY 2 DAY 2 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM TAKING OUR SOLUTIONS TO THE FIELD: PANEL DISCUSSION WITH GUEST EXPERTS Jubilee Room MODERATOR: Dyonna Ginsburg, OLAM GUEST EXPERTS: Larry Garber, International Development Independent Consultant Lisa Eisen, President, US Jewish Portfolio, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Ruth Messinger, Global Ambassador, American Jewish World Service 2:20 PM - 2:45 PM BREAK 2:45 PM - 3:55 PM L’HITRAOT: FOCAL POINT 2019 CLOSING Jubilee Room 4:00 PM BUSES DEPART TO NYC AND DC 14 www.olamtogether.org Larry Garber, International Development Independent Consultant Lisa Eisen, President, US Jewish Portfolio, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Ruth Messinger, Global Ambassador, American Jewish World Service #OLAMTogether | @OLAMtogether | OLAMtogether 15 PARTICIPANTS ADAM LEVENE, MASHAV traveled to Guatemala with AJWS as a Global Justice Fellow. Adam joined the Israeli Foreign Ministry in She loves traveling, spending time by the water, cooking & 2010 after working for a number of years spontaneous dance parties with her husband and two kids. in international sales and marketing. On [email protected] completing his cadet course, he was posted as deputy ambassador for Israel in Nepal and afterwards as ANDREW CARMONA, Social Impact deputy ambassador in the Philippines. Since 2015, he Andrew is an international development has been posted at MASHAV in Jerusalem. Adam has a practitioner with a passion for monitoring BA in Political Science from Bar-Ilan University and an and evaluation, program design, ICT4D, and MA in Security and Diplomacy from Tel-Aviv University. project management. He has 11+ years experience [email protected] working on global health, WASH, agriculture, education, youth leadership, governance, and post-disaster projects. ADERET DRUCKER, The Den Collective Andrew's work has centered on strengthening health Aderet serves as Co-Director for The Den systems, particularly on family planning/reproductive Collective, creating a Judaism that is relevant, health, MCH, and communicable diseases, as well as accessible, and deeply rooted in tradition early-grade education interventions. In his position at Social throughout the greater Washington, D.C. area. She is a Impact, he manages a portfolio of impact and performance spiritual leader, educator & community organizer. She served evaluations of US government-funded international projects. as senior rabbi for a congregation in Northern California and [email protected] as Campus Rabbi for Maryland Hillel. Most recently, she 16 www.olamtogether.org ANN DURBIN, Jewish World Watch Previously, she had taught a university course: “Peace Ann is a human rights attorney with experience Education and Conflict Resolution.” Annie now works as in humanitarian law and genocide prevention.
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