In this ever-changing pandemic landscape across the globe, different people in different places are navigating the new normal.
Some are remaining cautious, slowly moving back to in-person life and feeling their way, others are throwing their all into catching up with the past 18 months with zest and vigour. In October we had planned to run a two-day online event delivering 34 fascinating sessions with speakers from around the globe and we know people were excited to speak and excited to attend. What we did find, however, was that there was a reduced appetite to be online with many people keen to have the option to watch on catch-up. It’s a moveable feast right now and with so many people trying to get back to life we decided to rework the programme since we would prefer to be able to maximise opportunities to engage with people as best we can and to promote the dialogue where possible.
So this is the new plan. All of the Zoymen sessions will be made available over the coming months. They will be stand-alone sessions with some being converted to in-person gatherings. A calendar of events will shortly be available on the website giving ample time to put the sessions that take your fancy into your diaries well ahead of time. What’s more, you will have lots of time to tell others, bring friends and help spread the word.
This side of 2022, please join us at the following Zoymen sessions:
Global Jewish Pen Pal Program – Connecting Jews from Around the World Madison Jackson & Pen Pals. Session in English
Speaker: Madison Jackson (Pittsburgh, USA)
The Global Jewish Pen Pal Program is a non-profit organization that has matched hundreds of people of all ages with Jewish pen pals around the world. The organization also provides opportunities for participants to learn about Jewish life and culture in different countries. This session will introduce you to the Global Jewish Pen Pal Program, demonstrate why such program matters and explore how it has impacted people’s lives of all ages.
Sunday, November 21st • 2pm EST / 7pm BST
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Jewish heritage explorations in Belarus – who, how and for what?
Speakers: Sonya Shaipak (Minsk), Sasha Astashkevich (Polotsk)
Belarus is a real treasure trove brimming with historical and cultural heritage. One of the peoples who contributed so much to the fabric of society across the centuries was the Jews, and that’s why, in the cities of this country, you can easily find their presence in almost every building and street. This must be known and remembered and how do Belarusians cope with this task?
Sonya Shaipak in Minsk and Sasha Astashkevich in Polotsk invite you to join them on an exciting journey to show how they are playing key roles in The Together Plan’s Belarus Jewish heritage clubs. They all have one common goal – to explore and preserve the Jewish past the culture and the heritage. This session will introduce you to their understanding of what they are doing together so that they can help others, in turn, learn more about their identity. In doing this they hope to inspire and empower other communities in other cities and join their quest.
Sunday November 21st
Session in Russian: 9am EST / 2pm GMT / 5pm Belarus
Session in English: midday EST / 5pm GMT / 8pm Belarus
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The Lucky Jew of Poland
Speaker: Michael Rubenfeld (Poland)
In 2012, Canadian Jewish theatre artist, Michael Rubenfeld, proposed to his mother that they go to Poland together “for the first time” and see the country their family came from, and the places they had survived. This trip was to serve as research for a play they would make together. This “research” would ultimately turn into a much larger project, the outcome being that Michael now lives in Krakow, and became the co-founder of an alternative Jewish arts festival. In this session, Michael will share this journey and why he believes Poland is such an important contemporary space for the Jewish people.
This session is the forerunner to an in-person and online screening of the recording of Michael’s play ‘We Keep Coming Back’ (performed at the Selfconscious Theatre, Factory Theatre, Toronto in Nov 2018) which we will be showing in Spring 2022, followed by a Q&A with the cast. Click here to register interest in this event.
Thursday, December 2nd • 7pm GMT / 8pm CET
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