Ramaz hosted its first Greater Good Summit featuring leading environmental and cultural changemakers, who shared how they turned their dedication to helping others into global action. The virtual summit caps off the middle school students’ months-long interdisciplinary exploration of peace and justice through social, political, environmental and Jewish values lenses—for the community, the country and the world.
The entire program aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (specifically Goal 16: peace, justice, and strong institutions). Students attending this virtual conference heard from speakers who have dedicated their careers to helping others, raising awareness and a call to action surrounding some of the most pressing issues of poverty, climate change and others facing our society.
Through photos, stories and maps representing the 100-year period of the Jim Crow racial segregation laws, harnessing solar power to provide clean water to close to 2 million people in Africa, or leading a movement to improve the lives of the severely disabled, these heroic individuals shared the breadth and scope of their life’s work, inspiring students to see the power of their own reach and act on it for purposes of bettering our world.
In preparation for the Summit, students were asked to think deeply about the work of the three presenters representing ADI-Israel; Innovation: Africa; and Mapping the Green Book. A school-wide Padlet was used as a forum for an online conversation about a “Thinking Routine: See, THINK, ME, WE” (developed by Harvard’s Project Zero), to inspire observation and reflection, and to plant seeds for future action.
The summit tied together recent months of the students exploring notions of peace and justice through works of literature, field trips, data analysis, musical exploration, visual arts and scientific observation. Hopefully, the inspiration lasts a lifetime.
Ramaz Greater Good Summit Speakers:
- Candacy Taylor is an award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian working on a multidisciplinary project based on the “Green Book,” a guidebook published from the mid-1930s through 1966, providing African-American travelers advice on safe places to eat and sleep. Taylor is the author of “Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.” She is also the curator and content specialist for a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution.
- Genna Baron is the director of communications for Innovation: Africa. This organization impacts more than 1 million people in 10 African countries—providing clean water through solar power. Access to water is essential for education, for health and for food security.
- Elie Klein is a veteran advocate for disability care, inclusion, equity and access for ADI (ability, diversity and inclusion), a leading provider of residential care for Israel’s most vulnerable citizens—individuals with severe disabilities. The goal is to empower individuals with disabilities to push beyond their initial prognoses to live happier, more meaningful lives with dignity.
