The Bayit Project

Location:Spain, France, Italy, and possibly Hungary and Germany
Name of implementing organization:The Bayit Project Association
Date of initial project approval:February 2012

Project aims and objectives

To connect local youth and their communities to local Jewish Heritage sites

Project Description

TARGET GROUP:

Children 12-13 years old

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM:

The project aims to use Jewish Heritage sites in European cities to connect youth ages 12-13 to their heritage. Participants will construct a temporary "house of study" at the site. The place will become part of the "text" they will study.

The first year of the project will operate in 3 European cities: Paris (32 students), Barcelona (64 students), and Rome (128 students). For the second year, 3 new cities will be selected from Madrid, Milan, Budapest, and Berlin.

Each session will include 16 children, who are students at one Jewish day school in each of the 3 cities. As in the traditional Havruta format, students will work in pairs, with the study process a dialogue between two learners. The project will be based in the following Jewish Heritage sites: in Paris, in the Marais neighborhood; in Barcelona, in the old Jewish neighborhood (the Call) and Montjuic; and in Rome, on the Isola Tiberina and the Via Catalana (Old Ghetto).

Each group of 16 students will participate in 3 workshops. Each workshop will extend for 3 hours, and each session includes Havruta learning, with students sitting in the Bayit structures.

In the first workshop, students will be introduced to the project and will build their house of study, a small structure designed for two students. A local facilitator will lead the group through the site and help them identify visual traces of the historic site. Students then will work in pairs, guided by a worksheet. Each pair will have its own "Bayit".

The second workshop focuses on sharpening observation skills. It includes guided study in Havruta. Students will use a video-camera. Working in groups of four, they will observe and film the space. Each student will film for a maximum of 2 minutes. The entire group of 16 students will view and critique the films, focusing on what the images convey about the place.

The third session focuses on new meanings for and associations to the place. Students will work in groups of four, with each member of the group focusing on a different topic. Each student will film for no more than one minute. The entire group will view the films, which will serve as a stimulus for discussion.

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS:

During the first year, the project will comprise 2 groups of students in Paris, 4 groups in Barcelona, and 8 groups in Rome (224 students, in 14 groups). In the second year, there will be 384 students, in 24 groups (8 groups of 16 students, in each of 3 cities).

NECESSARY RESOURCES:

Permission of local authorities to use local historical heritage sites

Local facilitators

Bayit facilitators

Full participation of a local Jewish day school in each city

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION?

Local facilitators and Bayit Project facilitators

Main budget elements

Local facilitators

Bayit facilitators

Curriculum investigation and development of workshop curriculum for each site

Bayit construction

Video editing and post-production

Contact information for anyone seeking further information about the project:

David Stolero
The Beit Project Association, C/ Julia 29, Barcelona 08004, Spain

Telephone/fax: 34 93 441 7066

davidstoleru@thebeitproject.org
www.thebeitproject.org