New Limmud chair aims for first net-zero festival in December
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

New Limmud chair aims for first net-zero festival in December

Newly-appointed Hannah Gaventa targets climate change at largest annual conference of Jewish learning

Hannah Gaventa, Limmud
Hannah Gaventa, Limmud

The new chair of the Limmud Festival wants to make it the first carbon neutral Limmud event.

Hannah Gaventa, currently working at international development organisation Palladium, is uniquely placed to deliver on Limmud’s climate change goals; her work has taken her to, among others, Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, Malaysia, Ghana, South Africa, Mexico, the Philippines, and Dominica.

Accordingly, following on from COP28 in November, (the United Nations Climate Change Conference) Limmud Festival in December will be the first to be aligned with the UK’s Net Zero Strategy.

As country director of IsraAID (an Israel-based non governmental organisation providing global relief in disaster situations) in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, Gaventa’s team worked in partnership with UN agencies, the Clinton Foundation, the Government of Dominica, and the local community to embed climate resilient strategies in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Maria.

Limmud said: “Hannah brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, and will be leading a diverse team of talented, energetic, and creative volunteers to make Limmud Festival 2023 one to remember.”

Gaventa said: “Over the past 10 years, I have seen first-hand the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities in my work responding to disasters around the world. As Jews, we have a responsibility to ensure we actively preserve our environment for future generations to come. A single net zero Limmud Festival is one thing. A future of sustainable and environmentally conscious Limmud Festivals is the goal.”

The Limmud Festival 2023 team will use a carbon calculator tool to examine all the ways in which the festival can achieve the Net Zero goal and begin the process of creating long term strategies for future teams to develop the environmental sustainability of Limmud Festival.

Carolyn Bogush, Chair of Trustees for Limmud, said: “Limmud is always seeking opportunities to lead the community with innovation, and we are delighted that Hannah, and her team of the best and brightest community leaders, will be bringing growth and innovation to our flagship event this December.”

This year’s festival will run over the Christmas week. Dates will be announced in the coming weeks. Ticket pricing and sales will be announced in July 2023.

For more information visit https://limmud.org

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: