Source: The Jewish Week
Sandee Brawarsky writes about a string of Jewish events held in Uppsala, Sweden, "Summer of Change" during August, 2011. “Summer of Change” was a high-energy collaboration between three international foundations and organizations, all sharing a vision for revitalizing the European Jewish community — a process they see as already under way.
The first two of three successive meetings in Uppsala (all part of “Summer of Change”) were co-sponsored by Paideia; ROI Community, a Jerusalem-based global community of Jewish innovators created by Lynn Schusterman; and JHub: Jewish Action and Innovation, a London-based program funded by the Pears Foundation. The first meeting, Project-Incubator, conceived by Paideia and now in its sixth year, brings together European activists hoping to initiate new projects.
Many of the participants also took part in the second conference, JPropel, a first-ever seminar for young Jewish innovators more advanced in their entrepreneurial work who, as the name implies, would be propelled forward through technical and educational support — and strengthened in their efforts by meeting like-minded folks from all over Europe.
That culminated in a three-day academic conference marking the 10th anniversary of Paideia, which was founded with a grant by the Swedish government as a high-level educational institute to help rebuild Jewish life and culture in Europe. Called “Jewish Perspectives on Transformations in Contemporary Europe,” the academic conference brought together more than 200 alumni of Paideia’s programs from 38 countries, along with members of Sweden’s Jewish community, international guests and a roster of distinguished speakers from Israel, the United States and Europe.
The author gives a rich first-hand account of the activities and events that transpired at the two weeks of "Summer of Change".