Israel Conference for Young Adults Brings 400 Emerging Leaders Together

This week, 400 Jewish young adults from countries throughout the world will participate in Building Future Leadership (BFL), Masa Israel’s annual leadership conference in Israel. Following an intensive application process in which they exhibited their passion for Israel and their Jewish communities, these individuals will gain the tools they need to become positive and inspiring change agents back home.

Masa Israel has created BFL to motivate and prepare exceptional participants to become the leaders in their campus Hillels and in their local Masa alumni communities. JFNA’s Mandel Center and Hillel are both playing central roles in the conference, focusing on training Masa Israel participants for involvement once they return to the USA and Canada.

Over the course of the week, participants explore the topics of entrepreneurship, social activism, mentoring and coaching and communication. BFL has one track for gap year participants and one for post-college participants, with special seminars geared toward participants from the different international regions, including North America, Latin America, the Former Soviet Union, and France, in order to focus on their specific concerns. President Shimon Peres will address the participants at the opening gala.

Through Masa Israel’s partnership with Hillel, gap year participants will be pipelined into leadership positions at their new campus Hillels. Post-college participants will be pipelined into Federation and Jewish communal jobs and Masa Israel’s alumni division’s programs, including the Masa Israel Federation Fellows, Masa Israel/PresenTense entrepreneurship courses, and social, educational, and cultural alumni committees.