ZFA Jewish Educators Conference
The 12th biennial ZFA Jewish Educators Conference was held in Melbourne earlier this week, attracting record numbers, and raised the bar in terms of quality of output and engagement.
Over 400 people attended the conference, which included 60 presenters (of which six travelled from abroad). With multiple sessions running in parallel, attendees were exposed to 78 hours of presentations packed into just two days.
The conference was held at Mount Scopus Memorial College on Sunday and Monday this week.
Participants packed into rooms to hear from headliners, including Noam Weissman, Alex Pomson, Rachel Raz, Tal Gale and Wendy Amsellem. Subject matter ranged from the technical – such as tips to improve aspects of teaching and delivery – through to the grand philosophies of Jewish and Zionist identity, and the best way to impart these on the next generation.
The conference was also a rare and important opportunity for the principals of 10 of Australia’s Jewish schools to gather in the same room, to discuss mutual challenges and opportunities, and to strategise the best future for their schools and, through them, the community.
ZFA Interim CEO (and Education Chair of its Board) Miriam Munz said, “After a forced four year break due to COVID, this week’s conference was an invaluable opportunity to gather Australia’s Jewish educators in one place, to learn from and encourage each other.”
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said the conference exceeded expectations. “The record number of attendees and the level of engagement within each session shows us that not only is the Jewish education system in Australia incredibly vibrant, but our educators are eager to constantly improve, for the betterment of the community.”
International presenter Noam Weissman, Executive Vice President of OpenDor Media, said, “The ZFA conference was well worth the 20 hour flight to get here. Seeing educators who are genuinely enthusiastic to learn and full of hope should give everyone hope for our people. And it’s a reminder to the Jewish world that education remains the single most important and precious field for the Jewish people.”
The next Educators Conference will be held in 2024. Planning is already underway.
