EDJC Organisers & Coordinators Meeting 2025
25th & 26th of March, 2025
Barcelona
Mark your calendars! On March 25–26, 2025, the European Days of Jewish Culture Organisers & Coordinators Meeting will take place in beautiful Barcelona, Spain. This annual gathering is a unique opportunity for stakeholders from across Europe to come together, collaborate, and help shape the future of this extraordinary festival.
This year’s meeting will focus on the 2025 theme, “People of the Book.” Through thought-provoking discussions and presentations by esteemed speakers, participants will explore the theme’s deep connections to Jewish textual traditions, interfaith dialogue, and contemporary cultural contexts.
The program will also feature:
- Strategic Sessions on festival communication, branding, and planning.
- Interactive Workshops designed to equip organisers with practical skills for event planning and local engagement.
- Opportunities to network and share best practices with peers from all over Europe.
Whether you’re a seasoned organiser or new to the EDJC, this meeting is your chance to gain valuable insights, exchange ideas, and contribute to the success of the 2025 festival. Don’t miss out! Register now to secure your place and be part of this inspiring event. We look forward to welcoming you to Barcelona and working together to celebrate and promote Jewish heritage across Europe!
Programme
Note: All sessions will be in English and simultaneous translation is not foreseen.
The participation fee, two lunches and one dinner are covered by the organisation.
9:00 – Registration
9:30 – Institutional welcome
Victor Sorenssen – AEPJ Director
Sara Belbeida – Commissioner for Citizen Relations and Cultural and Religious Diversity
Raymond Forado – CIB.CAT Barcelona Jewish Community President
Silvia Leida – ATID Barcelona Jewish Community President
Assumpció Hosta – AEPJ General Secretary
10:00 – Logistics of the meeting
Federico Szarfer – EDJC Project Manager
10:15 – EDJC Committee presentation
10:45 – Keynote Lecture: People of the Book and the power of preservation
Dina Eliezer – Rabbinic Library of Izmir Coordinator
11:30 – Coffee break
12:00 – European Heritage Days meets the European Days of Jewish Culture
Itana Prljevic – European Heritage Days Project Officer
12:30 – The Jewish Library
Olga Lempert – National Library of Israel Project Manager
13:30 – Lunch
14:30 – Panel: Jewish literature in the Spanish speaking world
Aurelio Major – Poet, Literary Translator and Editor
Valerie Miles – Writer, Editor and Literary Translator
David Aliaga – Writer, Editor and Jewish Contemporary Literature Specialist
Paul Sánchez Keighley – Journalist, Literary Translator and Middle East Specialist
15:30 – Coffee break
16:00 – Panel: Women and the Tanach: A personal perspective
Sonja Viličić – CEJH Project Manager
Rabbi Irene Muzás Calpe – ATID Barcelona Jewish Community
Olga Lempert – National Library of Israel Project Manager
Lena Rubenfeld – FestivALT artistic director
17:00 – Lecture: Intertwining Judaism and Islam: My inner path
Bilal Dídac P. Lagarriga – Writer, Editor and Journalist
18:00 – Poetry Open Mic
19:45 – Dinner
9:00 – Doors opening
9:30 – Logistics: How to participate in the EDJC 2025 and the Cities Embracing Jewish Heritage project.
Federico Szarfer – EDJC Project Manager
Sonja Viličić – CEJH Project Manager
10:00 – Parallel Workshops 1
A: Overcoming antisemitism through EDJC activities – NOA
Robin Sclafani – CEJI Executive Director
B: Art thinking: The game of synaesthesia
Gastón Lisak – Artist, Professor at Elisava
11:45 – Coffee break
12:00 – Parallel Workshops 2
A: How to make the most of the NLI exhibition?
Olga Lempert – National Library of Israel Project Manager
B: Rewriting the margins: Jewish memory, art & radical Storytelling
Lena Rubenfeld – FestivALT artistic director
13:30 – Lunch
14:30 – Pitch & Connect Session
15:30 – Networking: Open Space variation
16:30 – Closure
The venue: Ca l’Alier
Ca l’Alier: Carrer de Pere IV, 362, Sant Martí, 08019 Barcelona
The EDJC Organisers & Coordinators Meeting 2025 will take place at Ca l’Alier, a unique venue in the Poblenou district of Barcelona. Away from the overcrowded city center, this location allows us to discover a different side of the city while supporting the revitalization of an area with a rich industrial past.
Originally a 19th-century textile factory, Ca l’Alier has been transformed into an Urban Innovation Center, combining sustainability, technology, and historical preservation. Its restoration turned it into a zero-emissions building, setting a benchmark for smart urban development.
Hosting the meeting here gives us the opportunity to engage with a vibrant neighborhood while also offering more reasonable accommodation options compared to the city center. We look forward to welcoming you to this inspiring space as we prepare for the European Days of Jewish Culture 2025.
Accommodation suggestion
Below we suggest some hotels that, due to their location, price and quality, may be suitable for your stay in Barcelona. However, feel free to choose the accommodation that best suits your tastes and needs.
Pitch & connect session: Share your project!
As part of the EDJC Organisers & Coordinators Meeting 2025, we are excited to introduce a dynamic Pitch & Connect session, where participants can present innovative projects related to Jewish heritage and culture, specifically around this year’s theme, “People of the Book.”
These short, engaging presentations (max. 7 minutes) will offer a platform to showcase ideas, inspire collaborations, and spark new connections among organisers, cultural professionals, and municipal representatives. Whether it’s an exhibition, a community initiative, an educational program, or a creative interpretation of the theme, this is your chance to share your work with an engaged audience.
If you’d like to present a project, fill out this form. We can’t wait to hear about your ideas!
Who can organise a EDJC activity?
Anyone! Whether you represent a Jewish community, a cultural association, a municipality or public institution, a museum or even an individual, you can organise an EDJC activity. To do so, we invite you to contact your local, regional or national coordinator to be included in their programme. Click here to see the list of coordinators. The AEPJ offers training, resources and support to any organisation, institution or individual who wishes to organise an activity that allows Jewish culture to be shared with the whole of society. See below for resources for the current issue.
What is an EDJC Coordinator?
The AEPJ has coordinated this event at European level since its beginnings in 1999, giving cohesion, visibility and relevance to the activities organised. But as the European territory is very large and the particularities and needs of each country may differ from the rest, there is the figure of the National, Regional or Local Coordinator who acts as a multiplier and ensures the implementation of the activities in the corresponding territory and through an extensive network of institutions and organisations.
If you want to become a coordinator, please contact us.
Register now!