What is the MJC?

The Muslim Jewish Conference (MJC) is a dialogue and leadership organisation for students and young professionals, bringing together important representatives and young leadership from Muslim and Jewish communities and beyond. The MJC is an innovative and progressive educational non-profit
organisation based in Austria. It wants to deepen interest in, and evoke curiosity for, intercultural communication and interfaith issues, in particular Muslim-Jewish relations. The MJC seeks to expand its visibility and extend its vibrant network of dialogue and intercultural communication in order to move closer to its goal of becoming a global think tank for Muslim-Jewish interests.

The Platform

The Muslim Jewish Conference (MJC) is a registered non-profit organization in Austria. The MJC is a global grassroots based group and involves 35 team members, young academics and professionals from all around the world and various faiths; living in 16 different countries and 4 different time zones. All communication, interaction, and production exclusively takes place through telecommunication tools, email, or online social media. The central activity of the organization is its annual travelling conference.

The Conference

The MJC gathers 70 -100 participants annually to discuss topics of concern for Muslim and Jewish youth. The main conference goals are to provide the next generation with a learning experience for life and a positive outlook for establishing intercultural relations and sustaining Muslim-Jewish partnerships. This happens through the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and experiences as well as the search for courses of action and jointly structured and planned projects.

Food, accommodation, and participation fees are all covered by the MJC, so participants are responsible only for covering their airfare.

The six-day conference is a unique opportunity for Muslim and Jewish youth as well as other young adults to discover each other’s identity by listening to one another, sharing narratives, and engaging in meaningful discussions. Learning about religion and philosophy as much as experiencing religious traditions supports the intended process of appreciating and understanding the complexity and diversity of culture.

The conference is structured into a number of small committees (10-15 participants), covering particular themes of interest which allow for in depth discussion of specific subjects, alongside a general programme which runs throughout and involves all participants, concentrating on the creation of shared values and meaningful interactions. The MJC offers a safe environment for intensive personal interaction with the intention to generate a friendly and responsive community.

The MJC Approach

There are no simple or quick solutions for problems such as non-communication and miscommunication, therefore, the MJC is determined to consistently exchange knowledge and experiences, share information about each other and nurture truthful interest in one another.

In contrast to imposing simple skills for intercultural communication, the MJC patiently contributes to long-term change and mutual appreciation by cultivating a new way of thinking about each other. The conference experience is based on multi-layered processes to cultivate genuine intercultural understanding. Creating vibrant learning environments and enabling knowledge exchange and production for participants as well as the team is one of the highest criteria the MJC has defined for its activities.

With the help of personal interaction and evolving friendships the MJC and more importantly its attendees are developing a common language and creating a vision of a peaceful future based on openness, dialogue, and exchange. Furthermore the MJC is paying close attention to their lives and struggles as young adults and fills the gap of missing opportunities for Muslim and Jewish youth to meet and build individual connections.