Purpose Educational Region served UK and Ireland Staff 5 | Headquarters London Official language English Volunteers 40 | |
BBYO UK & Ireland is a part of BBYO, a peer-led, Zionist and pluralist youth movement. It is open to Jewish youth between the ages of 13–18 who want to take part in its activities. The members form local chapters, of which some 10 are situated in BBYO District 15, meaning UK and Ireland. The members are encouraged to play an active role in both the Jewish and general community.
Contents
History
Further information: BBYO HistoryIn 1924, a group of boys formed a fraternity in Omaha, Nebraska. The society was named the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA, standing for Ahava Tzadakah Achdu't, meaning brotherhood, charity and unity). The B'nai B'rith Youth Organisation (BBYO) formed from the AZA, incorporating the B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG) in 1924.
The first BBYO chapter established in UK and Ireland (District 15) was Leeds, in 1940. There are some 10 chapters in District 15. Globally BBYO has some 40 000 members.
Operation
The whole district of UK & Ireland is led by the National Executive (team of six) which is elected by the members at an annual event called National Veida. The National Executive is made up of people usually aged 15–17. The National Executive supports the chapters as well as runs national events for the members.
BBYO also has a Youth Direction, Education and Development co-ordinator and an Admin who work in the office to support the National Exec. BBYO "elders" (bogrim) make up the Youth Commission and they support the chapters and the National Exec in an advisory role.
BBYO runs a number of events through the year. They are themed and combine social, educational and leadership activities. BBYO runs winter and summer camps, a 'new members' weekend, national weekends, and Israel and International Programmes too.
Chapters
The chapters typically hold their meetings weekly. The chapters have their own individual identity; the activities and programmes vary between chapters.
The UK and Ireland chapters are (as of 2017): Barnet (Masada), Birmingham, Bournemouth, Dublin (the only one in Ireland), Edgware (Deganya), London (Mercaz), Manchester, Nottingham (Yoni, inactive in 2017), Pinner and Radlett (Kehilah).
Executive Positions
In the UK and Ireland each chapter has up to six or seven executive members. These are the members that are in charge of running the programmes and looking after all the other members in that chapter. As BBYO is peer-led the executive positions are taken up by the older members of the group, usually aged between 15–17. There are six positions with different roles and jobs to do, as follows:
Israel Tour videos/images
Israel Tour happens every year and travellers come back with lots of photos and videos. On YouTube there is a page dedicated to these videos and slideshows.