``Paideia, The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, was created in 2000 through foundation grants from the Swedish government and the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. Paidieas mission is to actively promote the renewal and flourishing of Jewish cultural and intellectual life in the wake of the Holocaust and the trauma of Communism. To this end, Paideia conducts an intensive One-Year Jewish Studies Program, preparing young European Jewish leaders, entrepreneurs, and interpreters to become the engines of that renaissance through engagement in the interactive study of Jewish textual sources and applied leadership development. Now in its seventh year of existence, Paideia has developed dramatically and, in line with its founding visions, has become a truly dynamic educational institution that is an important vehicle for the rebirth of European Jewish culture. ``

``Each year, 25-30 top level university students and graduates are enrolled in Paideias One-Year Jewish Studies Program. To date, 150 remarkable individuals representing 32 different countries have completed the program. Paideia fellows are at the Institute in Stockholm for ten months, during which they study five days a week, seven hours per day. The One-Year Program includes 14 two-week Jewish textual courses, each 30 hours, running chronologically from Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Responsa Literature to Modern Jewish Philosophy. Paideias Jewish studies program is among the most intensive of its kind. The academic courses are taught in English, primarily by visiting Israeli faculty. Paideias faculty members are world-renowned experts in their fields and hail from such institutions as Bar Ilan University, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and Ben Gurion University. Paideia is a key player in keeping Europes doors open to Israeli academicians and brings more Israeli faculty to Europe than any other institution. Paideia fellows study their course-related texts one-on-one (in chevruta pairs) in order to develop a deeper, more personal engagement with Jewish heritage and worldview. This interactive study method helps the fellows grow more self-confident in their interpretative skills, as well as learn to respect diversity within the group and appreciate variety in textual interpretation. In addition to the Institutes course of study, all of the fellows take four hours of Hebrew Ulpan each week in conjunction with the Stockholm University. The amount of Hebrew credit earned is equivalent to one semester of exclusive full-time study. To maximize the programs impact, Paideia has developed a specialization structure, enabling the fellows to integrate their theoretical knowledge into their professional lives and respective fields of interest. Fellows complete a project or internship in one of four tracks: Jewish Professional, Academic, Artistic or Lay Leadership. This track system allows students to specialize and develop their professional expertise and entrepreneurial skills, while building on their personal interests and prior knowledge and experience. For three weeks, the Paideia fellows travel to Israel, where they study about the land and its history, experience the richness of its culture, and engage with scholars and cultural personae there. This trip serves to give the fellows a personal connection to Israel in order to forge strong and genuine ties between European and Israeli societies. In addition to the One-Year Jewish Studies Program, Paideia also coordinates: the Project Incubator - a ten-day interactive summer workshop where 30 activists with Jewish substance (from Paideia or other content-laden study programs) from across Europe gather to develop and concretize innovative projects for Jewish community building, education, culture, history and arts. Program participants range from artists to journalists, Jewish educators to opinion makers. The intensive program consists of textual studies, project-development workshops and personal tutoring. Following the workshop, tailored tutoring is given on-line throughout the year in response to the stated needs and requests of the participants. The projects represent a large spectrum of sizes, scopes and time-frames, where some are one-time artistic events, research papers or seminars while others are more permanent in nature, such as community building, cultural centers, educational programs or journals. Another important component of the Paideia Project-Incubator is the networking that takes place between the participants. Instead of just being a conference or a workshop for young leaders who are inexperienced in creating programs, the participants in the Project Incubator are qualified activists who come together for concrete program development and the exchange of ideas and experience. Within the network of participants, future projects are generated and ties are made that influence European Jewish life long after the incubator is over. Educational weekends and seminars in communities across Europe, led by Paideia alumni and faculty. These events have taken place in such cities as Belgrade, Kiev, Bratislava, Gothenburg, and Prague. Annual conferences where Paideia alumni and academicians share knowledge and ideas resulting from the dramatic developments in Europe with Jewish leadership from around the world. ``