Earlier this week, the PJ Library UK team brought together 33 Jewish educators — including nursery school teachers, synagogue educators, and communal professionals — for a day of learning and inspiration at the second Community Engagement Conference. Using PJ Library books and resources as a springboard for inspiration, expert speakers were invited to explore family engagement strategies and ideas over nine different sessions.
The celebrated artist and educator Jacqueline Nicholls opened the day as the keynote speaker, discussing how playful engagement with Jewish traditions can be a powerful means of connection for children and adults alike. Among the workshops offered were ones on how to help families find joy in conversations about Israel, presented by UJIA, and how to run an intergenerational Chanukah event, with the Director of Fun Places, as well as a sensory journey into neurodiversity by the culture inclusion officers from Norwood.
Participants were delighted to hear from Saskia Swenson Moss, the PJ Library International Program Officer, who flew in from Jerusalem to run a session entitled “Your Pocket Torah Toolkit,” encouraging educators to deepen the Jewish content in their work with children.
Sara Kibel, Deputy Director PJ Library UK, noted: “Bringing everyone together was an invaluable opportunity for attendees to connect with each other in person, share stories of success, learn new strategies to engage Jewish families and, of course, leave with lots of great new PJ Library books!”
Representatives from 24 partner organizations journeyed from around London, as well as from Surrey, Brighton, and even Berlin, Germany, to attend the conference. Learning about marketing ideas to further engage and connect with communities; gaining insights into working with neurodiverse populations; and acquiring a better understanding of how the PJ Library team can support them, participants agreed, were all extremely valuable takeaways.
The team gives a big thanks to Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe for its sponsorship of the conference.