The Baltic Jewish Network (BJN) is an initiative of local young Jewish professionals in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia who have identified the need for connecting Jewish professionals and entrepreneurs in a common platform where they can exchange ideas and build partnerships.
BJN brings together the concepts of being an independent professional, entrepreneur or a business owner with developing one’s Jewish identity and expression within our professional world.
Established in 2014, The Baltic Jewish Network Weekend is a unique 3-day conference for young Jews including sessions in various professional fields. This project is an opportunity to spend a long weekend together combining Jewish culture, traditions and modern life, as well as an opportunity to attend lectures and workshops leaded by top professionals from different businesses, such as banking, investment, media, marketing, management, HR and others.
During the event, participants are given the chance to present their businesses or areas of work and share their experiences and success stories with their peers. At the Baltic Jewish Network Weekend participants are making useful connections and starting new businesses together.
Company visits is a special part of the event – famous Latvian companies open their doors specially for BJN Weekend participants. CEOs are sharing their experience and speak about companies’ history, structure and business model, which give exceptional chance to get familiar with business organization in the region.
The other main goal of the event is finding and exchanging contacts and strengthening Jewish networks through communal activities, such as a Shabbat programme and sessions on relevant topics, such as Jewish business ethics.
The 2019 edition of the BJN weekend took place between 5-7 April 2019. Session leaders included Arkady Mayofis, founder of Russia’s most famous regional media company, Lea Wedensky, Head of the Israel Center for Effective Cognitive Technologies, Leonid Gelibterman, President of International Center of Wine and Gastronomy and TV presenter and humourist Mikhail Shats.