Our CEO, Jude Jackson, and trustee, Elliot Goodman, spent the week in Vilnius, Lithuania with leaders and educators from across the World ORT network.

The annual meeting, of both lay leaders and directors, was a valuable opportunity to connect and learn from one another. With new leadership both in World ORT and ORT UK, the conference allowed the international ORT community to celebrate the legacy of ORT and plan the future direction with a dynamic vision for the whole organisation.

Travelling to Vilnius was particularly meaningful. Before the Holocaust it was known as the Jerusalem of the North and was home to around 210,000 Jews, having flourished as a Jewish intellectual and cultural hub for centuries. Tragically, only 5% survived.

In the Paneriai Forest, where the Jewish community were once forced to dig their own graves, the ORT global Jewish family joined in a ceremony with public officials. Lithuanian dignitaries laid wreaths, Israeli Ambassador, Shelly Hugler Livne, delivered a moving speech and a choir from World ORT’s Sholom Aleichem School filled the silence with voices of hope from the next generation.

As well as important presentations and meetings, the week included many impactful visits which included visiting the impressive ORT school in Vilnius, visiting the Šeduva Lost Shtetl Museum and  attending a tour of Jewish Vilnius, including the beautiful synagogue.

The conference allowed time to reflect on the role of ORT UK in the context of the wider World ORT community, returning with a renewed sense of responsibility, as a charity based in Jewish values which continues to deliver life- changing programmes to all young people.

Jude said, “The World ORT conference was inspirational. Spending time with our international colleagues and now friends, is shining a spotlight for collaboration, learning and growing together.”