The main goal of the Active Jewish Teens (AJT) movement is to bring together active young Jewish people who have a great sense of their ethnic origin, knowledge of Jewish history, and the desire to find personal fulfillment in the Jewish community and their country.

AJT projects have many active participants and is a strong community. Participation in AJT projects gives teenagers an opportunity to understand their personal ambitions and gain necessary skills for successful communication and management in the future

These projects motivate us to support our peers and continue being a part of the large AJT family. Ray Ogbonna, a member of AJT Urban, was awarded the well-deserved prize for best project of the year at 5thAJT International Conference.

Ray’s AJT Urban project was dedicated to Jewish architecture. The main idea of his project was to familiarize young people with Jewish culture through education and study of various buildings, monuments and synagogues. His interest in drawing and Jewish architecture resulted in the completion of a series of various building sketches.

Ray’s goal for the future was to bring the project to the international level through close cooperation with BBYO. He was lucky enough to receive one of the largest BBYO grants to put towards the development of AJT Urban. Because of this grant, Ray was able to organize a regional seminar where 60 people from various cities came to his native city, Kharkov, and had the unique chance to go sightseeing around the old Jewish quarter. A wide variety of different master classes was also introduced.

Moreover, using the BBYO grant, Ray managed to create unique AJT Urban merchandise. During a conversation with Ray, he shared with me the secret of his success: “I had always wanted to show off this fascinating world of architecture and Judaica, and because of that desire, it was not difficult for me to present the information accurately and include interactive activities, such as walking around Jewish district. I managed to transform boring lessons into interesting conversations and debates.’’

Talented people like Ray motivate other teenagers to be unafraid to start something new or get involved with various projects, all of which focus on creating new solutions and different approaches to common ideas.