On February 17 – 18, 2017 in Minsk our representative Yulia Smilianska (director of the Kiev institute for Jewish studies), took active part in the annual session of the program "Metsuda", which aims to equip young Jewish leaders and activists with skills contributing community building and development.

Yulia's two lectures were dedicated to the following topics: "Yiddish as a culture phenomenon of Eastern European Jewry; shtetls and Pale of Settlement" and "Yiddish as a language of Jews in the Russian Empire. Yiddish literature". 27 students and youth instructors attended them.

At the first lecture Yulia Smilianska talked about the history of Jews' appearance in Eastern Europe, development and structure of Jewish communities in Kievan Russia, Great Duchy of Lithuania, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russian empire, life of Jews in shtetls (architecture, culture, structure of communities) and beyond Pale of Settlement.

The second lecture focused on changing the status of Yiddish at the end of XIX and beginning of XX century. The talk was accompanied by photo-features, collected at ethnographic expeditions.

Metsuda young leadership program seeks to equip young Jews with skills that contribute community building and development. It is our continuous cooperation with JDC.

The whole event was held in the framework of cooperation of the World Jewish Congress Yiddish Centre and JDC Belarus in the field of activity with the young generation. Last year WJC YC was represented there by Dr. Nataliya Rindyuk from Kiev-Mohyla Academy.