Some 160 activists and volunteers from 22 Partnership 2000 regions all over Israel, including eight graduates from the Community Leadership and Student Leadership program in Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains, participated in a national Leadership Conference which took place in Eilat under the auspices of the Eilat-Eilot-Toronto Partnership.

The Jewish Agency supports the training of local leadership among students and adults aged 20-45 through the implementation of leadership programs. These programs provide the knowledge, tools and skills needed for personal empowerment, community building and strengthening of the relations between the Partnership communities.

  
Participants in the program apply what they learn to the advancement of social involvement and to the implementation of projects for the benefit of the community. In parallel to the activities in Israel, there are similar leadership groups in the Partnership communities in the Diaspora. The relations between the groups in Israel and the Diaspora involve cooperation, the mutual exchange of ideas and learning about the characteristics and challenges of each of the communities.

This is the first conference of its kind and was initiated by the Young Leadership group in Eilat with the assistance of the Israel Department of the Jewish Agency. The idea for the conference arose from the realization that the time had come to bring together activists and volunteers from all the Partnership regions in Israel in order to learn from one another and to exchange information on what is being done in each region.

  
During the conference, each leadership group presented the projects that they had chosen to initiate and advance in their region. These included the recruitment of local dental clinics for the benefit of the needy in the Beit She'an community; the collection of supplies prior to the return to school and an environmental project on the beaches in Eilat; and the establishment of a Galilee Learning group which initiates study groups on Jewish identity in the Confrontation Line region and at the same time in the British Partnership community.

Leah Golan, the Director of the Israel Department, spoke to the participants about the Jewish Agency's strategy in Israel and the Jewish world and praised the participants at the conference for their contribution to their communities and the strengthening of relations with the Diaspora communities. Later, the particpants divided up into moderated discussion groups which dealt with the various needs of each region and how to meet them. These included the development and recruitment of resources, expanding participation, publicity and marketing, initiating and building projects, Israel-Diaspora ties, etc.

The location of the conference in Eilat gave the particpants a chance to relax and enjoy some sea sports and a social evening.

New and old leadership groups have been active in many regions in Israel during the past five years. A Young Leadership group of 20 participants formed in Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains in August, 2004. Two parallel groups formed in the Partnership communities of Washington and South Africa. Following a leadership seminar lasting several months, the three groups met in Israel and in Washington for a program of study and the exchange of ideas.

Following the mapping of needs, the program participants chose to focus on two themes: the establishment of a discussion forum between the various streams in the city and the advancement of social activities for local youth.

The participants are currently working to advance these programs with the assistance of local bodies and the support of Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains-Washington-South Africa Partnership 2000.

Zion Ben Yair, who is active in the Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains Young Leadership group summed up the conference: "For us, this was an important opportunity to hear about and learn about the projects and challenges of other groups, some of whom have more experience than we do. What we have learned will help us in advancing our own projects in the region. In addition, the conference gave us a chance to talk about what the Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains Young Leadership is doing and the projects we are planning for the future. We hope to strengthen our ties not only with our Partnership communities in the Diaspora but also with the other groups in the various Partnership regions."

The next Young Leadership conference will be hosted by the Beit She'an-Cleveland Partnership 2000 in June, 2006.