IAC Teenage Hackathon Brings Jewish Students to Israel – Jewish Journal

In May, Darya Aminia, a resident of West Los Angeles learned that she had landed the CEO position that she had asked. But Aminia is not a seasoned executive. She is a sophomore at 15 years old high school. And the CEO's concert was for the recent Eitanim Summer Hackathon of the Israeli American Council (IAC) – a five-day residential program that took place last month at the American Jewish University (AJU).

The third annual hackathon brought together 169 students from Jewish and Israeli middle and high schools across the country. This year, for the first time, a handful of students came from Israel.

The students were divided into 17 teams and charged with "developing a revolutionary solution to introduce Israel and its Jewish heritage to people visiting Israel during their flight experience."

On June 29, the students, with their two dozen volunteer mentors and a small group of parents and friends, participated in what was presented as a demonstration day at the Gindi Auditorium. l & # 39; AJU. The final seven teams (semi-finals were held earlier in the day) presented their products to the public and judges: Danna Balas Caldwell, President of Menchie's Frozen Yogurt; Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of SpaceIL; David Gonen, co-founder of Curious Minds; and the CEO of IAC and the founder of Eitanim Shoham Nicolet. In addition to the hackathon, IAC Eitanim offers programs in more than a dozen countries throughout the school year.

Each of the seven groups had four minutes to present their professional quality videos, graphs, graphs and budget forecasts. Some groups have created product demonstrations, including an approximate version of a virtual reality tour of the Wailing Wall.

The proposal for "In A Bite" started with a withdrawal of traditional air food. Instead, he promised delicious dishes like couscous that reflects the diversity of Israel. Each item would be accompanied by a short description printed for a more immersive experience.

The students were divided into 17 teams and charged with "developing a revolutionary solution to introduce Israel and its Jewish heritage to people visiting Israel."

But the winning product was "180 °". Based on the concept of tikkun olam, 180 °, which was designed as a nonprofit, was intended to connect travelers to causes and organizations in Israel that resonated with them. They can then choose to donate charity or volunteer.

Even though the Israeli virtual tour simulated in Israel by the Aminia team did not win the jackpot, the experience really motivated me to become a better leader. I said. The biggest challenge was "keeping everyone on the job," she said. "It was very difficult for my group," she admits, largely because her group became so close during the week.

However, it is one of the goals of IAC Eitanim. While it is important to link these pre-Jews and Jewish Jews to Israel and their Jewish identity is important, Nicolet said, "Friendship is the best gift that can be withdrawn from Israel. Eitanim. "

Nicolet, who grew up in Israel, shared three photos with participants before the finalists' presentations. The first was from him in a seventh grade program, with his own small group of friends. Nicolet acknowledged that this hands-on, project-based learning program has changed his life and taught him to "innovate and work hard to meet deadlines." These experiences, he said, served as a model for IAC Eitanim. From 1999, a group of Israeli soldiers, including Nicolet, appeared alongside Major Eitan Belachsan, who was killed while fighting Hezbollah just days after taking the photo, and whose program Eitanim is named.

The last photograph was of 20 people, including Nicolet, who played a key role in founding the IAC 11 years ago. "Everything is in the team," Nicolet said. "Great things are done in teams."