BBYO Passport has announced that BBYO UK & Ireland will be joining the Beyond gap year program in August 2013. Gap year programs are popular in England, and until now BBYO UK & Ireland sponsored a program called BBYO Meir. Sending approximately one dozen participants each year, BBYO UK thought it would be beneficial to offer their members the gap year program with BBYO Beyond instead.
Through the invention of the Internet and more specifically social media, society has become global by nature. “What better way to facilitate the globalization of society by combining with other BBYO members throughout the world”, said Rina Rebibo, program manager for Beyond. “Now that Beyond will also have participants who come from England and Ireland, it will add to the dynamics of the program. In order to be leaders in your own society you need to understand other perspectives and cultures.”
BBYO is the leading pluralistic teen movement aspiring to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences. Beyond is designed to extend the values of BBYO to the next phase of a teenager’s life after high school; leadership, service, advocacy, Jewish living and commitment to Israel. Beyond is offered as a 5-month or 9-month program. The experience combines a taste of academic life at Tel Aviv University, service projects with Israeli peers and the joy of living and maturing as an adult in Israel – the Jewish Homeland.
Matt Herman, director of BBYO UK & Ireland, said “Beyond came at a perfect time for us. Periods living and studying in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel's two most exciting cities, options that cater for everyone's taste, an unprecedented level of peer leadership and youth empowerment and the chance to make friends from across the world at an incredibly competitive price makes Beyond an amazing program. We're really pleased to be working as a united movement to develop an inspiring and meaningful connection to Israel for our members.”
For more information on 2013-2014 Beyond gap year programs please visit http://beyondyear.org/