By: Talia Salzman

Does Canada always have leadership retreats? You bet! Vancouver Hillel saw students from Simon Frasier University, University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, and Evergreen College for a weekend full of fun leadership building activities and Israel Activism training. We ate, we talked, and then we talked some more..

This past weekend at the beautiful UBC Hillel house a congregation of young Jewish student leaders as well as up and coming leaders came together to learn about effective communication, event planning, and promoting Israel on campus. The programs were designed for students to hone in on their leadership skills while simultaneously encouraging students to actively participate. Though provoking discussions about what it means to be a Jewish leader continued throughout the weekend. “The leadership programs allowed us to zoom in on what aspects of ourselves we want to grow as leaders and the discussion of politics and Jews in Israel also gave us a sense of what we want to change and do on our individual campuses”, says Leora Frimer, Hillel member at UBC. Programs involved breakout groups focusing on analyzing quotes from past successful leaders such as Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela.

Students compared leadership effectiveness from famous leaders in the past and present and were prompted to debate the characteristics of an effective leader. As groups presented their findings to the rest of the students, I was very proud to hear that promoting Israel was at the forefront for being an effective Jewish leader on a University campus. Speaking to Danielle Fenson, a new executive board member and participant, I asked her what was the most interesting part of the weekend, “I really liked learning about the different minorities in Israel because it was something that most of us are not exposed to in the Western World. The program itself was interactive and very enjoyable!” Incorporating not only training, but challenging educational debates into the programs is what makes Vancouver Hillel’s retreats one of a kind.

Sitting all together as the retreat came to a close, students were asked what they liked the most about the retreat. I was pleasantly surprised to hear one student’s eagerness to go back to their campus with their newly acquired leadership skills, to fundraise for Save A Child’s Heart. From the Havdallah ceremony and Shabbat Dinner to the leadership building programs, the overwhelming response was a positive one.