The Sefer Center project has been awarded a grant from the Presidential Grants Foundation

The "Memory Maps" project, an electronic archive of field research covering oral history, ethnography, epigraphy, and archival documents developed by the Sefer Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization, has been awarded a grant by the Russian Presidential Grants Foundation.

The Sefer Center's electronic field research archive serves as a database designed to collect, store, and systematize materials gathered during field schools and expeditions conducted by the Center for over a decade.

The project encompasses the following initiatives:

• Webinars for students and researchers planning to participate in the project, covering database training and introductory cultural and historical context;

• A winter school in Moscow, featuring lectures by leading experts in the history, culture, anthropology, and languages of the studied communities, as well as practical workshops on expedition preparation and database management;

• Expeditions dedicated to documenting oral history, folklore, archival materials, and the cataloging of Jewish cemeteries;

• The development and optimization of the online database, including prototype testing and interface enhancement;

• The integration of new materials into the database.

The Sefer Center, an affiliate organization of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), will also host its 25th Anniversary International Conference on Jewish Studies this year.

Dr. Victoria Mochalova, Director of the Sefer Center, expressed her gratitude to Haim Ben-Yakov, Acting Director General of the EAJC, for providing the official letter of support during the project application process.