Leadership with a Side of Waffles

What a weekend! I was lucky enough to join JDC Regions for their wonderful Generation Next conference. Young Jewish leaders from around Europe gathered in Brussels, Belgium. It was incredible hearing about different Jewish communities from so many cultural backgrounds. We met Jews from Serbia, Israel, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Switzerland, Holland, the Baltic countries, Italy and more!

Some of the problems these communities face, such as attracting new members were quite familiar, especially in Germany and others were totally novel. The most fruitful part of the weekend was delving into these topics. I got to hear how these leaders tackle things like declining involvement, insulated communities and emigration.

I also noticed the striking difference that still exists between the east and west. It's clear that countries in Eastern Europe are still dealing with repercussions of the fall of communism but at the same time meeting vivacious young leaders from these communities makes me optimistic for the future. I'm far from being any kind of expert but I'm glad I got the experience to start learning about the reality of the Jewish situation in Europe first hand.

The only problem is now I have lots of new countries and communities I want to visit and only so much time!

Of course I can't forget the food Belgium is famous for, my personal soft spot. I went a little overboard on desserts this weekend but I'm not in Belgium every day (it was worth every chocolate and waffle).

Now it's back to Berlin to rest up for the next adventure. Who knows were I'll end up next!

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