The World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomatic Corps (JDCorps) and the Consulate General of Israel in New York announced Campus Pitch, a program inviting college students to pitch creative new approaches to advocating for Israel, fighting anti-Semitism, and building stronger interfaith relations on New York and tri-state campuses.
“We are excited to announce an opportunity for students to pitch innovative ideas about broadening the conversation on Israel and forming new partnerships on campus,” said Ido Aharoni, consul-general of Israel in New York. “The initiative is a platform to inspire out-of-the-box thinking across the tri-state area this academic year.”
Campus Pitch seeks to bring fresh perspectives to conversations about Israel at colleges in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and to get students more involved in Jewish affairs. ‘Campus Pitch’ is open to undergraduate and graduate students of all backgrounds. Proposals may be submitted until 12 November 2015 at: http://studentproposals.wix.com/campuspitch.
Ten projects will be selected for presentation to a preliminary panel and the five students or groups with the most promising concepts will have the opportunity to pitch their proposals to a panel of entrepreneurs, CEOs and global Jewish leaders at a special event in February, 2016. The winning student or group will receive a grant from the WJC of up to $5,000 to put their idea into action on campus during the 2016 spring semester.
“While overt anti-Semitism is no longer socially acceptable at most colleges, a deep strain of anti-Israel invective that often hides anti-Jewish attitudes is spreading across campuses nationwide,” said CEO of the World Jewish Congress Robert Singer. “The Campus Pitch initiative will work with students themselves to cultivate their ideas on how to best fight this scourge.”
The winners will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to attend a 2016 WJC International Conference in Europe, where they will present their project to hundreds of Jewish leaders from around the world.
The Jewish Diplomatic Corps (JDCorps) is a flagship WJC program that supports a worldwide network of some 130 outstanding young Jewish professionals from more than 30 countries. WJC provides JDCorps members with opportunities to engage in diplomatic activities, meet with government officials and NGO representatives from around the globe, and participate in WJC events and activities.
