Training programmes

Current training programme

The Jewish Heritage - Incubator program for EU strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).

The annual meeting point for managers of the European Route of Jewish Heritage of the Council of Europe. A two day program to promote, train and help develop unique and excellent Jewish cultural routes and programs around Europe.

The Jewish Heritage

Incubator program for EU strategy for the Danube Region
The Jewish Heritage - Incubator program for EU strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) is a plan for the development of Jewish Heritage Routes in the macro-region, which includes a two-day program, based on different levels and in a multidisciplinary way.

The aim of the project is to accelerate the process of creating Jewish Heritage Routes in the macro-region and establish the bases for their transnational collaboration through a training program and transnational work sessions among the participants. Activities contribute to the promotion of inter-religious and intercultural dialogue with a view to facilitate historical discussion on Jewish heritage among citizens on a local and European level.

The Specific objectives that will be worked on the extended version are:
1. Extend the European Route of Jewish Heritage in at least five countries of EUSDR through the integration of National Routes.
2. Strengthen the transnational cooperation and common visibility: Creation of tools and joint initiatives in the field of marketing, cultural and tourist services and educational exchange between the different national routes.
3. Implement sustainable development plans of the different parts of the Cultural Route and create a guideline for the development of Jewish Heritage Routes in EUSDR.
4. Evaluate the further development of the European Route of Jewish Heritage in EUSDR.
Activities:
1. Research. Identification of potential "leader partners" at national level for the development of Jewish Heritage Routes in: Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.
2. Involvement of new stakeholders. Strategic planning with lead partners to integrate their projects in the European Route of Jewish Heritage. This includes inter alia the creation of an inventory on the development of the proposed route at national level.
3. Capacity building. Two-day incubator program which will represent the platform for the operational planning with the main stakeholders on: Jewish heritage, models of cultural, educational and tourist development on the development of transversal networks with stakeholders as well as on financial opportunities and development of economically self-sustainable projects. Last but not least, a "makeathon" will be prepared for the creation of joint transnational projects and services among the national work teams for the EUSDR in order to increase the transnational connectivity of the Routes.
4. Extension of the Route. Launching and extension of the Route under the monitoring of the Scientific Committee.

Expertise & Excellence

Our Scientific Board is composed of independent scholars and specialists selected for their expertise in the field of tourism, cultural heritage and preservation.

The role of the Scientific Board is to design and carry out the training programme, follow up participants on their work, assist them in planning their specific action plan for their routes, approve new European Route's partnerships and supervise the new routes' roll out.

AEPJ Scientific Board for the Incubator is currently composed by:

Prof. Yoel Mansfeld University of Haifa

Yoel Mansfeld is a Professor of Tourism Planning & Development, a consultant and a trainer based in Haifa, Israel. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE), University of London, UK. His main areas of interests include sustainable tourism, cultural tourism; cultural routes; tourism and security; socio-cultural impacts of tourism development; community-based tourism; and religious tourism. He is also the founder and Head of the University of Haifa's Centre for Tourism, Pilgrimage & Recreation Research (CTPRR) and one of the founding members of the European Cultural Routes Universities Network (ECRUN) established by the Council of Europe’s European Institute for Cultural Routes. Yoel Mansfeld is also an active member of the UNESCO-UNITWIN network on Culture, Tourism & Development, and a member of the scientific committee of AEPJ, which supports the preservation, appreciation and promotion of Jewish culture and heritage in Europe.
Jeremy Leigh Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem

Jeremy Leigh teaches Israel Studies and Modern Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem. He is the coordinator of the Richard J. Scheuer Israel Seminar for the Year-In-Israel Program as well as director of the HUC-JIR-JDC Fellowship for Global Jewish Responsibility. He leads the Year-In-Israel Program’s program in Lithuania and coordinates the annual professional development program in Former Soviet Union.

Prior to coming to HUC-JIR, Leigh taught Ethnography of Israeli Society through Cinema, at Rothberg Inter- national School of the Hebrew University. As well as teaching at various academic institutions in Jerusalem, he is the director of ‘Jewish Journeys,’ a long standing initiative to develop and advance the eld of global Jewish travel. Leigh studied at University College London and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He has written extensively about the eld of Jewish educational travel, including his last book, Jewish Journeys: Re ections on Jewish Travel (Haus, London 2006). Leigh was born in London, England and moved to Israel in 1992. .

The Jewish Heritage - Incubator program for EU strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR)

The Incubator programme

First day programme

Thursday, October 3rd, 2019
Jewish Community Center, 18 Strada Popa Soare, Bucarest (Romania)

9:00 9:15 Welcome and presentation of the programme. Sign in, grab your badge and a coffee.
9:15 9:30 Update of the development of the project, Brief presentation of the website of the European Route of Jewish Heritage.
9:30 11:00 "Development of business capacity and establishment of networks", Keynote speech by Yoel Mansfeld- AEPJ Scientific Committee .
11:00 11:30 Coffee break. Networking, introductions and coffee.
11:30 13:00 "Contents, narratives and the educational field of the projects" Keynote speech by Jeremy Leigh - AEPJ Scientific Committee
13:00 14:00 Lunch Break. Lunch will be served at the JCC Bucaresti.
14:00 15:30 Workshop 1.1, Work in groups - Presentation of the different Routes.
15:30 15:40 Small break, More Coffee.
15:40 17:10 Workshop 1.2, After the presentations, time to work on the challenges proposed by the Scientific Committee.
17:10 17:30 Small break, Maybe time for a tea...
17:30 19:00 Workshop 1.3, Mentoring on the strategic planning for the Routes.
19:00 Social program, Well deserved after an intense day of work!

Second day programme

Friday, October 4th, 2019
Jewish Community Center, 18 Strada Popa Soare, Bucarest (Romania)

9:30 11:00 Workshop 2.1 / Makeathon 1.1, Workshop: same dynamic, different subject. Makeathon: Danube Routes explore collaborations. The Makeathon will be led by Jeremy Leigh, Dubravka Davidovic and Victor Sorenssen.
11:00 11:30 Coffee Break.
11:30 13:00 Workshop 2.2 / Makeathon 1.2. Challenge stage for the workshop and for the makeathon.
13:00 14:00 Lunch Break.
14:00 15:30 Workshop 2.3 / Makeathon 1.3, Time for mentoring in the workshops/ Results stage in the Makeathon.
15:30:00 16:45 Coffee break and general conclusions.

Training Programmes

During the three years of the AEPJ Incubator Project, an annual training will be held in the framework of the Incubator, especially designed for managers, directors and project leaders who seek to create a Jewish Heritage Route within the framework of the Council of Europe, as well as for those who are already working on a Route project and want to improve and upgrade their project.

The programme is focused on acquiring the basic tools and support structures for the development of your Jewish Heritage Route. With this objective, different master classes will take place on the main topics related to the creation, development and sustainability of the projects. But also, we offer extended training for those directors, managers and project leaders who are looking for intensive training and personalised mentoring. The objective is to give the participants the opportunity to create an individual tailor-made work plan for the following year to implement in their projects.

The training is designed and will be carried out by three members of the Scientific Board of the AEPJ:

Dr. Jordi Tresserras, University of Barcelona.
Prof. Yoel Mansfeld, University of Haifa.
Prof. Jeremy Leigh, Hebrew Union College.