PresenTense Institute

Shavuah tov! The PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism is not just an Institute--it's an incubator that blends hi-tech, social action and the arts...and here we are, rockin' out.

Shabbat Shalom from the PICZ Boys here in Jerusalem.

Nir Kouris, who was on the first team of the successful Israeli start-up WeFi, came into the Institute on Wednesday June 27th to share with us his experiences in being with WeFi from the beginning and his vision for developing a technologically-focused summer camp for Jewish youth from around the world called E-magination Israel. Here is Nir's introduction (the Hebrew announcement is followed by an English one):

Nir is also a Member of PICZ, and an inspiration to us all: his hard work, unbelievable success and social entrepreneurial vision drives us all to new heights as we explore the connection between informal Jewish education and technology.

Check out the rest of the videos here.

On Monday the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism community's paradigms were busted, as Tsvi Bisk, noted Futurist, lectured on themes in his soon to be released book, the Optimistic Jew.

One of Tsvi's most controversial statements--and the one that rang the most true--was that Israel shouldn't just live to survive, it should live to economically thrive. That is, Israel should strive to have the highest Median income in the world--thereby ensuring that as many Israelis as possible have the economic power of the Middle Class. Check out more here:

See the rest of the talk on our YouTube account. Enjoy.

There isn't much Benny Levin has not done; as one of the fathers of Israel's NICE Systems--the godfather of the Israeli Hi-Tech industry--he has now moved on to found what one of the PICZ fellows described as the "most revolutionary social-value creating project on the scene": Israel Venture Network.

IVN is working on a number of different levels to create real systemic change in Israel--and blending public and private spheres in one of the most wise ways we've ever seen: by tying those who have succeeded in the private sector directly to the heart of the public sector, IVN is helping people learn how to help themselves--teaching people how to fish instead of just giving fish.

Here are snippets of the talk, broadcast on YouTube (we can only load up 10 minute segments, unfortunately) and the pocast will come soon. Enjoy.

See the rest of the videos as they're uploaded, on our YouTube account: CreativeZionism.

With an intensive and stimulating shabbaton behind us, PICZ fellows hunkered back down into project-mode. Here is a glimps at a few of our fellows.

A pre-Shabbat message from PICZ Fellow and Bible rapper Matt Bar while everyone prepares for Shabbat.

Folkrapper and PICZ Fellow Matt Bar regaled the crowd at Thursday's networking event with some of his "fresh off the grill" raps. Matt's project this summer is a curriculum of the Bible and Midrash using raps as triggers. Below are some of his works in progress that he will be developing over the next six weeks. Get in touch with Matt if you have feedback.

PICZ is an incubator -- but what does that mean? See for yourself, in a silent film presentation below:

One of the leading Hi-Tech movers and shakers in the world--and a Zionist leader and example in his own right--spoke to an overstuffed house tonight: Jacob Ner-David.

The talk was wide-ranging and superbly executed: Jacob reviewed the revolutionary transformations that have affected human society and especially Israel in the past fifty years, and showed, very convincingly, that Israel and the Jewish People have competitive advantages in a number of ways, most importantly concerning connections and risk-taking abilities. Check out the presentation that went along with his remarks here.

As for the Video--well, Windows decided to play a little trick on us...and disabled the microphone for some reason. And that is why the video below has no sound. But do check it out--it looks nice!

Have no fear, however--all has been taken care of: Here is the podcast from the lecture. If you'd like, you can sync it up with the video. Or, better yet, just listen to it in the background and share in the mindblowing experience of learning from Jacob Ner-David. Enjoy.