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GENERAL INFORMATION | PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Since 1988, 16,000 teens from more than 200 communities have traveled to our nation's capital to participate in Panim el Panim. Each seminar brings together diverse groups of 10th -12th graders from around the country to explore public policy, community service, and social activism through a Jewish lens.
Seminars take a hands-on approach to public policy and Judaism through encounters with leading experts on national and global policy issues, and community service projects. Participants interact with the people and institutions that shape our society and world. Simulations, role-plays, debates and small-group discussions are used to help students apply Jewish values to contemporary social and political issues. Teens emerge with a heightened sense of Jewish identity and a commitment to social and political advocacy. Seminars offer students an intense and interactive educational experience during which they explore their relationship to both Judaism and activism.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Panim el Panim programs are four days in length and generally run from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon. This year, PANIM is also offering a modified Shabbaton seminar.
Seminars range in size from approximately 65 to 85 students, although seminars held over school vacations may have as many as 120 attendees. Community delegations may not exceed 40 participants at one seminar. PANIM offers customized seminars for larger groups (contact us at info@panim.org if you are interested in running a custom seminar). Regardless of size, all programming is designed to maximize the opportunity for students to actively participate in discussions and activities.
The ways in which communities bring together their Panim el Panim delegations are as varied as the communities themselves. Some students come to DC having been enrolled in a Hebrew high school, while others have been part of a JCC teen leadership program or a congregational school’s confirmation class. Many communities see Panim el Panim as a way to reward their "cream of the crop" or graduating seniors; they are chosen only after a nomination and application process. Other communities will use the Panim el Panim experience to attract and engage under-affiliated Jewish teens.
Bringing a Group
All groups must be organized through a school, youth group, synagogue, JCC, BJE, or similar agency. All groups must be accompanied by a chaperone (a staff member or lay leader from the sponsoring institution). Chaperones (visiting faculty) work with PANIM staff to provide supervision and educational guidance throughout the entire program. The required ratio is one visiting staff person per 10 students.
Costs
Tuition is $595 per student, which includes hotel accommodations (four students per room), kosher meals and snacks, transportation during the seminar, and program materials. Cost is different for visiting faculty, reflecting that staff are coming to work and play a key role in the seminar's success. The cost to share a room with another visiting staff is between $350-$400. Single rooms are available upon request for an additional $400.
PANIM does not arrange ground transportation to and from the DC area airports.
Registration
Groups register for one of our two tracks – Politics in Action or Service and Advocacy – offered on each Panim el Panim seminar. To indicate your initial interest, fill out a seminar interest form. Space is guaranteed upon receipt of the $100/per student deposit and PANIM group registration form. Please contact our office (registrar@panim.org) and refer to our website for registration materials, which include all information and forms you need to start planning your trip to Washington, DC.
A packet full of recruitment information and ideas is now available. Please download the packet here.
Preparation
Preparation for Panim el Panim is multi-faceted. We encourage all groups to have some type of programmatic and informational preparation sessions for parents and teens before the trip (i.e.: a meeting with teens and families to discuss behavioral policies, dress code, etc., and a meeting with a local government official and/or Jewish community activists to help prepare students for the public policy focus of the seminar).
Approximately 4 months before the seminar, PANIM staff will begin regular contact with the person coordinating the trip for your agency. We will make sure your group is well aware of all pertinent deadlines, as well as providing you with updates regarding the Washington experience. We will also provide you information to help prepare your students for Panim el Panim, including: a letter to school officials explaining absences for the seminar, packing guidelines, behavioral polices, and a sample schedule. We recommend that you start preparing your students for the lobbying appointment before you come to Washington – ask students to think about the issues about which they are passionate, and to learn about the views of the representative whose office they will be visiting. PANIM can also help you plan a preparatory program for your students. Please contact Mikah Goldman for ideas.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS 
While each seminar differs in specifics, these programs should give you an idea of what to expect on-site. Not all programs occur at each seminar.
Policy Session (Politics in Action Track)
PANIM brings in two speakers with opposing and/or divergent views who are particularly active in and knowledgeable about a specific public policy issue. Each speaker presents for about 10-15 minutes. Following both talks, students have the opportunity to ask questions. Many seminars will give students the chance to choose from two different policy sessions.
Limud (Politics in Action Track)
An interactive activity connected to each policy session, the Limudim are designed to help students understand Jewish perspectives on public policy issues. Students will attend the Limud that corresponds with their policy session topic.
Community Service Hagaddah (Service and Advocacy Track)
Students spend half a day volunteering at local organizations including soup kitchens, hospices, and schools. Students choose from a selection of service-sites, and work hands-on in groups of 10-15. Service is contextualized within a Jewish text study program. This allows students to reflect before, during and after performing their service, and gives them an opportunity to creatively present their experience to the group incorporating Jewish texts and values.
Advocacy Visits (Service and Advocacy Track)
Students visit advocacy organizations to learn about their community-service project as part of a big picture. Experts teach students about advocacy and the power of interest groups, and discuss how citizens can help enact legislation to combat the systemic problems associated with the service they performed the day before. This visit helps students prepare for their lobbying appointment on Capitol Hill.
Values Conflict
Participants are given fictionalized scenarios taken from actual events in which they are confronted with a policy-making dilemma to be resolved using PANIM's Jewish Values Matrix. PANIM's Values Conflict sessions are an excellent way to gain an appreciation for the relevance of Jewish values to problem solving and public policy issues.
Azeh Hu Ashir / Who is Rich?
This program aims to create an opportunity for students to examine and share their value systems with one another, while studying how traditional Jewish texts prioritize community and individual investments. Students begin to understand how their own values, and those highlighted in Jewish texts, lend themselves to the Panim el Panim program and messages.
Pro-Israel Activism
A representative of AIPAC, the Embassy of Israel, and/or other Israel policy organizations briefs students on U.S.-Israel relations and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The speaker provides a brief overview of current Israel-related issues of interest to American Jews and then explains how students can get involved as Israel activists. Students will also have the opportunity to ask challenging questions. This session is often paired with an interactive program that prompts students to explore their own sentiments and beliefs about Israel.
Encounter with Homelessness
PANIM invites representatives of the National Coalition for the Homeless to speak about homelessness in America. The program usually includes personal testimonies of formerly and/or currently homeless individuals and suggestions on how to combat homelessness in their communities. Students learn about both the personal and policy issues surrounding homelessness and have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. In conjunction with this program, students will be offered the opportunity to distribute clothing and toiletries that they bring from home.
Capitol Hill Visits
PANIM arranges an appointment with the office of each delegation’s Member of Congress or Senator, where students lobby their representative face to face. Throughout the program, students conduct Community Caucuses to prepare for the lobbing experience. Students are trained to present their message effectively, and have time to learn about the issues that are important to them.
A Taste of Washington, DC
PANIM makes space in the program for groups to explore Washington DC – including self-guided visits to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Smithsonian Museums, Capitol Hill, the National Mall and other DC destinations.
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