150 Changemakers from 29 countries in Jerusalem
One hundred-fifty of the Jewish world’s leading young changemakers from 29 countries convened in Jerusalem this week for intensive networking, skill-building and ideation at the 2016 ROI Summit, ROI Community’s flagship program.
Representing Australia at the summit were Sheree Rubenstein, Aaron Densham, Menachem Woolf and Joel Burnie.
Sheree Rubenstein
This year’s participants brought a diverse set of interests and accomplishments, ranging from building an online support system used by thousands of victims of sexual abuse around the world; to making Jewish text more accessible through humorous takeoffs on biblical stories; to establishing a yoga organization that provides low-income Kenyan women with the skills to become self-sufficient yoga instructors; and much more. These 150 innovators share a commitment to building a more
Aaron Densham
vibrant, inviting and inclusive Jewish future for the benefit of the Jewish community and the broader world.
Keynote speakers at the conference included: Jeremy Heimans, co-founder and CEO of Purpose, a home for crowd-based movements aimed at solving the world’s biggest problems; Dr. Dalia Fadila, president of Al-Qasemi College in Baka al-Garbiyyeh near Haifa and founder of Q Schools; best-selling author and founder of Ein Prat academy, Dr. Micah Goodman; Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder of IKAR, a leading-edge Jewish community in Los Angeles; and Katie Meyler, who was named TIME Magazine Person of the Year in 2014 for her work fighting the Ebola virus through education.
Menachem Woolf
“Since its inception in 2006, the ROI Summit has convened some of the most promising young Jewish minds, providing them with a platform to showcase their ideas, challenge each other and develop their visions for change. We feel lucky to be able to look back on a decade of community activity, to learn from our challenges and success over the years and to see the tangible impact that our members have created in communities across the globe,” said Justin Korda, executive director of ROI Community. “This group of changemakers is injecting the Jewish world with a boost of energy and creativity that will shape the Jewish future for years to come.”
Joel Burnie
Participants in the ROI Summit brought some of the most valuable content, so much of the experience revolved around peer-to-peer skill- and knowledge-sharing sessions. To encourage participants to learn from the diverse array of global leaders attending the event, ROI commissioned a dynamic online platform called “Brainstorm,” which helped participants arrange 30-minute one-on-one meetings in which they shared their expertise as they learned from, challenged and inspired one another.
ROI Community is an initiative of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.
