About the Competition

"My Family Story" - the Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf International Annual Competition

For over 15 years, Beit Hatfutsot has been engaging tens of thousands of students from all over the world in Jewish heritage through the annual My Family Story International Competition. In this competition, middle and high school students research and present their family stories and thereby explore their collective Jewish history. In the 2011 competition, more than 20,000 students from various countries around the world (Israel, Argentina, Belarus, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Spain, Italia, México, Russia, South Africa, Venezuela, Ukraine, U.S.A. and others) participated, presenting projects in their own languages.

 

We invite your school to participate in the 2012 My Family Story International Competition. Please be in touch with Catriella Freedman at catriellaf@bh.org.il for information about registration fees and any further questions.

 

MFS Competition details

 

- Target participants. The competition is intended for 12-15 years of age students .

 

- Eligibility. Participation is only available through educational institutions and community centers. Individuals may not enter independently.

 

- School representatives. Each institution may select up to four individual projects prepared by their students to represent them in the international competition.

 

- Family Tree.  Every project must include a family tree. We recommend using Family Tree Builder, which is a free genealogy software by MyHeritage.com. This specially designed software will help students to build their family trees and then register them at the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center at Beit Hatfutsot, for future generations. You can download the Family Tree Builder here or start working on-line here. 

 

- Language. Projects can be submitted in students' native languages (Hebrew, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, French, etc.)

 

- Hebrew Abstract. In schools where Hebrew is taught, students are recommended to include an abstract page in Hebrew.

 

- Cover page. Every submission must include a cover page that contains the following information: name of the student, grade and name of the school.

 

- Digital copy. The projects should be sent in digital form to be kept by the Museum (either alone or in addition to the printed copy). 

 

- Size. The Museum will not accept projects that exceed 60x60 cm. In the case of artistic presentations which exceed this size, we suggest the inclusion of the respective pictures. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

- Teacher support and online forum. Beit Hatfutsot and the The International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies has produced an accompanying curriculum unit in order to support teachers and students in the process of preparing My Family Story projects.


MFS Project Delivery

  1. Schools are responsible for the delivery of the projects, and we do not accept delivery from individuals.
  2. Each school should send by e-mail a list with the names of the students whose projects have been sent to the Museum.
  3. It is important to find out all customs taxes before the delivery and to provide for the payment. The Museum will not cover payment of custom taxes in Israel. 
  4. We suggest that every school organizes the arrival and collection of the projects with the delivery company before being sent.

 

Judging: Stage One

  • Every school should select a maximum of four projects to be sent to Beit Hatfutsot. In case more projects arrive, only four will be considered, being selected at random.

 

 

 

  • The projects sent to Beit Hatfutsot will be evaluated by a jury of representatives from the Israel Ministry of Education, The Constantine Family School of Education of Tel Aviv University, the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center, the Education Department of  Beit Hatfutsot, and experts in the field.
  • The selection criteria include the following areas: research, documentation, originality, presentation and genealogy.
  • All students whose projects reach the museum will be awarded with a certificate from Beit Hatfutsot.
  • Prizes will be awarded for the best projects in two separate categories – Israel and the Diaspora communities; and to schools (or community centers) which demonstrated a special achievement. 

 

The Ceremony
On June 16 2011, a ceremony honoring the students and their families from all participating countries took place at Beit Hatfutsot in the presence of representatives from Beit Hatfutsot,  Tel Aviv University and the Grosskopf family in order to acknowledge their active roles in writing the history of the Jewish People.

 


 

Registration

To enter the competition, your school or community center must register using this form.


For further information and registration, contact:
Marta Mazo, Coordinator, My Family Story
e-mail: bhroots@post.tau.ac.il
Tel: +972-3-7457906, 972-52-6130516

 

 

MFS Team: 

Shelley Kedar, Director of the International School of Jewish Peoplehood Studies
Sophy Turkea, Director of Program Development
Marta Mazo, Coordinator of My Family Story, South America
Catriella Freedman, Coordinator of Program Development, North America
Kate Rosenberg, My Family Story, UK & Australia
Eva Halachmi, My Family Story, Consultant, France
 

 

 

Judging: Stage Two