Training & Workshops

Training Purpose:

• To increase awareness of Jewish Diversity related to the needs of your community.
   
• To provide educational tools for exploring commonalties and differences between Jews and between Jews and allies with respect, sensitivity and tolerance.
   
• To consult with students, teachers, administrators and outreach professionals on translating a Jewish Diversity lens into inclusive communal outreach and practice.
   
• To guide organizational communities through a process of increasing awareness, building commitment, and becoming agents for change.

 Approach:

Ayecha offers a variety of introductory, mid-level and advanced workshops that range between two hour and three day professional sessions.  Each workshop is geared to help participants navigate a process of building awareness, developing commitment, and becoming partners for change. Ayecha’s introductory workshops explore “Jewish Organic Diversity” and provide a basic overview of the practical skills necessary for developing and maintaining inclusive “Jewish” spaces across difference.

To accommodate the professional diversity among students, educators, administrators, and outreach professionals, Ayecha offers a mix of awareness and skill building sessions that are specifically tailored toward the needs of each group.

Awareness sessions include:

• Diversity among Jewish educators and professionals:  What has changed about who we are, what we bring, and who we serve through the work of Jewish community? 
   

• Contemporary Demographics of Regional and Global Jewish Diversity: a survey of the range and impact of Jewish diversity in the United States and around the world. 
   

• Multicultural Organization Development 101: a 10-step fundamentals workshop on deepening effectiveness, productivity, and the “bottom-line” across racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in the workplace.

Skill building sessions include:

• The Changing Face of Jewish Identity: An Educator’s compass for navigating Jewish Multiculturalism and diverse entry-points to Judaism within the classroom.
   

• Leaving the Land of the Frozen Chosen: Exploring dynamic ways to teach Jewish multi-dimensionality through traditional and innovative approaches to Jewish text and life-cycle events. 
   

• Developing a Common Language for Navigating Diversity in the Workplace:  Strategies and interactive exercises that provide a deeper understanding of the nuances of diversity in the workplace. A chance for working communities to gain an understanding of how real and perceived power differentials impact and influence relationships, communities and the work of an organization.
   

• Creating meaningful cross-cultural conversations: Developing meaningful relationships with individuals and groups across difference requires skill and heightened sensitivity. This workshop will explore the ways in which historical awareness, cultural competency, authentic dialogue, and strategic inclusion can be used to create better allied relationships both within and outside of the Jewish community.
   

• The Jew in YOU: A skills session in utilizing a Jewish Diversity lens to provide inclusive Jewish programming that extends opportunities for Jewish education to both Jewish and non-Jewish recipients of Jewish communal service.

Additional training sessions for college campuses include:

• Race, Identity, and Privilege in Judaism Part I: An awareness session that provides a closer look at how Jewish identity fits within the dynamics of contemporary identity politics on college campuses across North America and the work to end Racism in the United States and global regions of the world.
   

• Race, Identity, and Privilege in Judaism Part II: Emergent strategies for building inclusive community across difference through a broad examination of contemporary demographics of Jewish Diversity related to race, age, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, physical ability, and cultural affinity. An exploration of historical and contemporary references to paradigm shifts in the conceptualization of Jewish identity and community. An interactive skills session on building inclusive community through:
   

  • Engaging individual and organizational capacities for multi-dimensional relationships.
     

  • Exploring the personal elements of Jewish identity.
     

  • Re-thinking and clarifying the depth of Jewish connections to work for social justice.
     

  • Reflecting on the ways that anti-Semitism and internalized anti-Semitism affect both Jewish identity and individual/institutional effectiveness as allies and change agents.
     

  • Identifying next steps for personal/organizational transformation and growth.
     

• Jewish Gospel: The Journey of a Jewish Spirit: This presentation is dedicated to honoring the journeys of both African-American and Jewish men and women who utilize "Songs of the Spirit" to foster strength, courage and vitality in the face of oppression. Through song, anecdotes, and interactive discussion, participants will experience the stories of multi-generational Jewish journeys from Africa, to Jerusalem, to Brooklyn, in pursuit of truth, freedom, and service of God through Judaism.
   

• Facilitating Difficult Dialogue: Communication between individuals and groups who differ from one another is often loaded with conflict, misunderstanding, and strong emotional reactions. Being a culturally competent administrator, teacher, helping professional, or public servant requires an ability to facilitate difficult dialogue among diverse groups. This session will help participants deal with emotionally charged interaction in the workplace and sustain effective communication across anger, hostility, silence and complaints, to improve inter-group relations through learning and growth.
   

Workshop Costs: 

The cost for a Jewish Diversity workshop is $1,500.00 per each group of 15-30 participants trained, per day, and $2,500.00 per each group of 15-30 participants trained, over two days. 

Workshop fees are used to pay our facilitators and programmers and cover the cost of travel, production and distribution of workshop materials.

* Final workshop fees are negotiated upon contract.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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