LEADERSHIP
Some might say leaders are born. We believe they are made. Participants are challenged to define their strengths, weaknesses, and personal leadership goals. Then we provide the tools, feedback, and mentoring they need to experiment, collaborate, and learn from their mistakes. The result? A meaningful experience they can apply to real world challenges now and in the future.
JEWISH IDENTITY
Diller Teen Fellows is based on a belief that true leadership stems from a strong sense of self, and an appreciation of others. Participants examine and reflect on their sense of Jewish identity in order to understand how their history, traditions, and values motivate them to act in the world.
Participants are encouraged to wrestle with their notions of Jewish identity and those of their peers. The result is a deeper understanding of what it means to be Jewish, both individually and collectively.
ISRAEL
Participants gain a new perspective on Israel, informed by direct and authentic connections to the land, the country, its history, and its people.
A peak experience of the program is the Israel Summer Seminar. The three-week seminar brings together all participants to engage in the diversity, vibrancy, and complex reality of modern Israel.
TIKKUN OLAM
The approach, experience and impact of tikkun olam, “repairing the world,” are central to the Diller Teen Fellows. Participants are given opportunities to create and lead tikkun olam projects close to their hearts. Students move beyond academic participation to engage in hands-on work to “repair the world.”
PEOPLEHOOD
Diller Teen Fellows explores the concept of Jewish Peoplehood—the idea of a collective Jewish experience, flourishing now and in the future— through multiple lenses. It is a topic of particular focus during the Jewish Communities Mifgash Seminar and the Israel Summer Seminar, including at the Diller Teen Fellows International Congress with all 32 Diller communities around the world.
PRACTICING PLURALISM
Diller Teen Fellows embraces pluralism in the broadest sense. Participants reflect the diversity of the Jewish communities in which they live. Throughout the program, participants are introduced to a wide range of different Jewish practices, beliefs, values, and perspectives and are encouraged to develop an appreciation for the spectrum of Jewish expression.