Ambassadors Programme

The MJLC Ambassadors Programme is intended to build up a network of young European leaders from the Jewish and Muslim faiths who share enthusiasm for interfaith work, consult regularly and can coordinate interreligious activities through city chapters in order to dispel harmful stereotypes and spread accurate information about their faiths and traditions and to promote solidarity and collaboration, providing an important example of coexistence in times of increasing divisions and polarisations.

The Ambassadors Programme constitutes a year long engagement that runs along participants’ work, studies or other commitments and is designed to explore and equip them with skills related to interreligious dialogue and constructively address hate speech and prejudice. Participants will gain practice implementing a joint initiative to promote the needs of their communities as well as interfaith solidarity and social cohesion and will become certified Ambassadors of the MJLC upon successful completion of the programme.

In 2022/2023, the pilot MJLC Ambassador Project ran projects in Warsaw, Frankfurt, and London involving a total of six Jewish and Muslim leaders, mentored by locally based MJLC members and contacts and reviewed with the help of trainers. Following the initial three-day training, the MJLC Ambassadors in each city put their newly acquired skills into practice through a small joint project funded by a grant of up-to EUR 5,000 provided by MJLC.

In 2024, a second iteration launches in four new European cities; Vienna, Milan, Oslo and Sarajevo. Eight new young Ambassadors will grow our cohort of young Muslim and Jewish community leaders collaborating across Europe under the mentorship of MJLC religious leaders.

Team Projects   |   Video Section

MJLC ambassadors
TEAM PROJECTS
MJLC Ambassadors - London Team
London Team Project
MJLC Ambassadors - Warsaw Team
Warsaw Team Project
MJLC Ambassadors - Frankfurt Team
Frankfurt Team Project
VIDEO SECTION

Introduction

Take a look at this overview video from the Ambassadors Programme showcasing the Warsaw based training from December 2022

Interview with Lea Bartels

See our interview with our Jewish Ambassador from Frankfurt, Lea Bartels, as she discusses her thoughts on the importance of interreligious dialogue, and her expectations for her team's project

Interview with Rabab Nassabaih

Take a look at our interview with our Muslim Ambassador from Germany, Rabab, as she discusses the importance of overcoming our presumptions to truly understand each other and ourselves

Joint Interview with Lea and Rabab

Watch Rabab and Lea's joint interview as they talk about their experience at the training and their friendship

Interview with Shayk Faid Mohammed Said, Imam of London Central Mosque and MJLC Mentor

Listen to Shayk Said explain why our differences should be celebrated and the importance of constant learning

Interview with Chief Rabbi Daniel Askenazi, Chief Rabbi of Barcelona and MJLC Mentor

Listen to Rabbi Askenazi discuss historical existence between Muslims and Jews in Spain and how meaningful dialogue can help restore friendly relations

Joint interview with Shayk Said and Chief Rabbi Askenazi

Listen to Shayk Said and Rabbi Askenazi talk about the importance of dialogue, the existence of shared challenges, and their hopes for the Ambassadors Programme
MJLC Ambassadors - London Team

This project focused on a joint dinner between 15 members of Jewish and Muslim communities in London to celebrate Eil Al Adha. The event was held in a mosque in West London where Kosher and Halal-compliant food was served to all attendees.

The dinner began with short speeches from Shayk Faid Muhammad Said, Imam of London Central Mosque and Rabbi Alexander Goldberg, Dean of Religious Life and Belief at the University of Surrey, in their capacity as mentors to the MJLC Ambassadors. The dinner which was planned to last for two hours instead lasted four hours to allow the participants to continue engaging in dialogue. Surveys filled out by participants after the event indicated an overwhelmingly positive response with a strong desire shown to participate in similar events in the future. A Seder dinner is set to occur in April as a follow up event.

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This project focused on the creation of art to express religious identity in a collaborative space which was designed to slowly build comfort and trust between participants allowing for natural free-flowing dialogue and learning about the other participants’ religions while building lasting friendships between the participants. The project took place over five separate meetings over the course of three months and saw participation from twenty Muslims and Jews living in Warsaw.

The project began with an icebreaker meeting to establish familiarity between the participants, two ceramics workshops followed this to allow the participants to create pottery inspired by Andalusian art styles symbolising coexistence between Jews and Muslims. The next meeting was both a cooking workshop, designed to showcase cuisine from Jewish and Muslim cultures, and an art exhibition allowing members of the local community to see the works of art produced by the participants. The project concluded with a day long trip to Łódź and a ceremonial final dinner to cement the interpersonal relationships built over the course of the project.

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This project was designed to bring young women from Frankfurt’s Jewish and Muslim communities together to learn about each other’s religions and cultures jointly over the course of four activities that highlight aspects of the history and cultures of Muslims and Jews.

The first event was a joint dinner to celebrate Eid al Adha and Pesach during which participants shared the significance of the holidays and how they are celebrated. The second event was a guided visit to the Jewish Museum of Frankfurt in order to provide participants more information about Judaism and Jewish history, this was followed by a picnic allowing participants to discuss what they learned. The third event was a visit to a mosque during which participants were shown the daily routine of a mosque allowing Jewish participants to experience Islamic practices in order to learn more about Islam, followed by a workshop to jointly design t-shirts with Jewish and Muslim symbols. The fourth event was a music session during which participants jointly created music and engaged with each other to form lasting bonds. The project culminated in a joint trip to Berlin in order to visit a synagogue, an Islamic academy, and an interreligious event on the wonders of nature.

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