Congress comes to an end

Contributed by Hazel Olson-Dorf

Today, Thursday July 21, was the last day of Congress. We started off the day at the Tel Hai College campus and had a presentation from the JC's about what it's like to be a Diller JC. After that we heard from our first Interim Coordinator, Elana, about the alumni network and the many options of how to stay involved with Diller after our fellowship has ended. We also heard from some other JC's and JC mentors about their personal experience with Diller. 

After a break for lunch, we had our "Global Thinking to Doing Unit" which involved in-depth brainstorming about our Tzedaka projects. It was really inspiring to hear about how other kids from around the world were thinking of giving back to their communities.

Next was the "Alumni Open Space". I ended up in a session called "The Morality and Ethics of War" which was led by a Baltimore alumni who was interning for an Israeli member of Congress after finishing her education at the University of Maryland and Penn State. This was one of the best workshops I have been a part of in Diller. It was incredibly interesting to hear from kids who live in Israel and South Africa as well as some voices from my own cohort. Although it wouldn't have been possible, I wish everyone could have been in the workshop - it was that good!

We then had 45 minutes of feedback time in which we filled out a survey and "reflected" with our Tribes. Although this was plenty of time to write feedback for Congress, I expect to share more feedback from me about the entirety of the Israel trip (when I get back). 

We then returned to the hostel we had been staying at and got ready for the closing ceremony and celebration. During the ceremony we thanked all the people who made Congress possible and watched a few different slideshows from the previous four days. Then, the DJ played the Israeli Top 50 while all of the fellows and staff danced and sweated for an hour and a half. (A few people in the SF cohort told me it was the best workout they've had all trip.) It was a fantastic way to conclude the Global Congress of 2016. We all got back to the hostel late; then showered, packed, and finally went to sleep. Whew.