A New Year’s Resolution from PresenTense

Our New Year Resolution – and our commitment to you PresenTense has always understood itself as an open-source movement. Not because we like the jargon, or because it’s trendy to use the words ‘open-source’, or because it gives us good branding – but because that is what we literally have been since day one: a collection of individuals from around the world who are committed to contributing to the Jewish People in the here and now, to upgrade our community’s Operating System so our programs, activities and ideas are up-to-date and actionable for these years and the years to come. When a few dozen of us started working on the magazine back in 2006, the concept of being an open organizing framework was core to how we envisioned our work in the time to come; when we... Continue Reading

How PresenTense Defines Success for Ventures Launched

Last Thursday, July 23, the 16 fellows of PresenTense’s summer Institute 2009 cohort stood before close to 250 people and in one fell swoop launched 14 new social ventures into the world. The next morning we got together for brunch to do one last reflection on the summer and its program, and the main question on everyone’s mind was: now what? This question – where do PresenTense ventures go after the six weeks of the summer Institute – has been much talked about recently: it was brought up by Raphael Ahren in Haaretz, who wrote that “A number of last year’s fellows, however, seem to have neglected their projects after departing the institute, with their Web sites lying barren ever since.” In response a number of PresenTense’s contributors and members have... Continue Reading

How Can the Organized Community Best Take Advantage of Social Innovation?

Over a century ago, the Jewish Publication Society was formed to “provide the children of Jewish immigrants to America with books about their heritage in the language of the New World.” During it’s long life-cycle, the JPS became the standard bearer for Jewish wisdom literature, its most popular item – and cash cow – being the JPS Tanakh, the Bible many if not most young Jews in America received when they were given the Good Book. Recently, however, the JPS realized that the printed book, even the Good one, was under siege – and with it the existence of the JPS itself. Seeing online content grow all around it, the JPS had two general choices: cut back, cut down and hope for the best offline, or develop new directions and revenue generating products that can live in... Continue Reading

How Would You Like Your Grandchildren Educated?

Most of our readers — and possibly you reading this — don’t have children, let alone grandchildren…and that means we have time, and obligation, to build the world we’d like them to live in. As such, PresenTense ran an amazing event last night in Jerusalem, focused on the future of education in the Jewish State. And you didn’t have to be in Jerusalem to participate (I’m in New York at the moment): all you had to have is a connection to the internet. Here’s one example of a remote-participant, Gabby Schoenfeld: (Gaby is an an informal Jewish educator who is trying to enable young Jews to have life-changing experiences through service and social justice programs in Israel and throughout the world.) “I want my grandchildren to know how to ask questions. I want them to have strong... Continue Reading

Turn Your Dream Project Into Reality

Make your project ideas real this summer in Jerualem Are you an entrepreneur who cares deeply about the future of the Jewish People? A hacker, programmer, educator, social activist–a rapper, a painter or a biotech visionary who wants to make an impact on the world? Then come learn more about how you can launch your project or scale up your current venture in a special session of the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism, a six-week intensive summer program in Jerusalem for socially-minded entrepreneurs. This past summer we hosted 18 young entrepreneurs in Jerusalem for six weeks from the fields of hi-tech, business, social action, education and the arts — providing them time, support and training as they took their ideas and made them fully-fledged start-ups. For example, a rapper from... Continue Reading