Yallagan: Connecting Jewish people worldwide through community and events
A innovative platform is creating opportunities for Jewish individuals to connect and engage with one another, wherever they are in the world
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
When Michael Stern, Lucie Ashkenazi and Alan Mekibel realised that they and other young adults were potentially missing out on Jewish events, they developed a platform to make sure this would never happen again. We asked them to tell us more.
What is Yallagan?
Yallagan serves as an aggregator of global events that brings Jewish communities closer together. It is a website on which Jewish organisations worldwide can list their activities and Jewish individuals can find them. Combining the spirit of the words “yalla” (let’s go) with “balagan” (chaos) Yallagan embodies the vibrant and dynamic nature of Jewish events. It not only unifies all Jewish social, religious, cultural and educational events on one platform but ensures a safe and user-friendly experience for both individuals and organisations,
Why do Jews need help finding events?
There are a lot of amazing things happening but often you don’t get to know about them because you haven’t signed up to the right newsletters or maybe you’re not even part of a community. Our goal is to help those who are tirelessly working to engage their community reach more people, and expose them to more things. We aim to bring Jewish people together to foster meaningful connections and shared experiences.”
How vital is it to have a platform like Yallagan?
With 15 million Jews worldwide and 250,000 annual Jewish events, many people struggle to stay connected due to fragmented communication channels. Yallagan addresses this gap by creating a digital space that strengthens Jewish identity and brings communities together. More than 70 percent of Jews struggle to find events online and 96 percent have concerns about safety, so a secure, closed platform that aggregates Jewish events globally is a much-needed resource.
How did you go about launching Yallagan?
With the help of seed grants and some savings, we launched the platform in 2022 and since then we have onboarded more than 190 organisations from 35 countries, and listed more than 1700 events. Yallagan is a non-profit organisation registered in Germany. The Yallagan Team has attended over 60 major Jewish conferences worldwide to learn what’s needed and to spread awareness of the vision of the project.
What is the next stage for Yallagan?
There are exciting plans for the future of Yallagan as a booking platform and a service management system where anyone organising an event will be able to find a venue, caterers, lecturers, musicians, and so on meaning that you support Jewish businesses and your community, but also find the right deal. An app for android and iOS is in the development process.
How secure is the platform?
Security is paramount and Yallagan is a closed platform, inaccessible without registering. We check through each registration.
Where is Yallagan available?
All over the world. We are especially keen to reach all communities in Europe, not just the larger markets like France and the UK. People in small communities are willing to travel to other cities for events – and Yallagan can help them do that. Eitan Bergman, Executive Director of EUJS (European Union of Jewish Students), says: “By showcasing diverse Jewish programming, Yallagan empowers students to strengthen their Jewish identity and build vibrant communities across Europe.”
How does it work?
The platform knows where the user is based and will show events happening in the locality. Users can also filter in terms of location and the type of event they want to attend – from a small Shabbat dinner to youth gatherings, lectures or even a large concert. Organisations can put a link to their event or booking can be done through the platform. There is a button to click that will release the address of the event when the organiser is ready.
Last word?
The biggest challenge we have as Jews is that although we’re connected and unified over a cause, which is Israel, we’re disconnected from one another, internationally and even locally. Yallagan is here to change that.
Register on Yallagan for FREE and become part of a global movement reconnecting Jews with their heritage and community.
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