Home > NIOT Model Spreads to Ukraine with Project Kesher
NIOT Model Spreads to Ukraine with Project Kesher
Submitted by alicia on April 7, 2011 - 10:39am
I always believed and I tried to prove to others that each of us can do something to repair this world.
—Project Kesher activist Alina Verhofskaya, Yalta, Ukraine Not In Our Town was first introduced to Project Kesher in 2007, when producers Patrice O’Neill and Rhian Miller presented the Not In Our Town model to women from across the former Soviet Union who had gathered in Kiev, Ukraine. These women were part of Project Kesher, a Jewish women’s organization that unites 150 grassroots women’s groups serving 6,000 women in the former Soviet Union.Since then, Project Kesher groups have been implementing the Not In Our Town model. This year, nearly 20 cities in the former Soviet Union will be participating in Not In Our Town activities.“It’s not a hard sell at the local level. We find governments are very comfortable with this model," says Project Kesher executive directory Karyn Gershon. "It’s just an inspirational idea that was structured in a way that is self-replicating and self-sustainable.”Yalta-based activist Alina Verhofskaya oversees the Crimean region and South Ukraine. In this interview, Alina speaks about why interfaith-interethnic coalitions based on the Not In Our Town model work, and how it’s provided structure to respond to hate crimes and larger community concerns. This interview was possible with the incredible help of translator Galina Sardirova. Read the interview...[1]
NIOT Model Spreads to Ukraine with Project Kesher
I always believed and I tried to prove to others that each of us can do something to repair this world.
—Project Kesher activist Alina Verhofskaya, Yalta, Ukraine Not In Our Town was first introduced to Project Kesher in 2007, when producers Patrice O’Neill and Rhian Miller presented the Not In Our Town model to women from across the former Soviet Union who had gathered in Kiev, Ukraine. These women were part of Project Kesher, a Jewish women’s organization that unites 150 grassroots women’s groups serving 6,000 women in the former Soviet Union. Since then, Project Kesher groups have been implementing the Not In Our Town model. This year, nearly 20 cities in the former Soviet Union will be participating in Not In Our Town activities. “It’s not a hard sell at the local level. We find governments are very comfortable with this model," says Project Kesher executive directory Karyn Gershon. "It’s just an inspirational idea that was structured in a way that is self-replicating and self-sustainable.” Yalta-based activist Alina Verhofskaya oversees the Crimean region and South Ukraine. In this interview, Alina speaks about why interfaith-interethnic coalitions based on the Not In Our Town model work, and how it’s provided structure to respond to hate crimes and larger community concerns. This interview was possible with the incredible help of translator Galina Sardirova. Read the interview... [1]