What is YSW?

Yiddish Summer Weimar (YSW) is one of the world’s most important and most inclusive Yiddish culture festivals, where traditional and contemporary Yiddish culture is taught, developed, and shared with the public. Each year, a community of artists, musicians, workshop participants, and guests from around the world gather at the festival to experience and shape Yiddish culture in workshops, jam sessions, and concerts.

Click here for more information. back

When is YSW happening?

July 12 to August 17, 2025 back

What is the topic of this year's YSW?

This year, YSW is celebrating its 25th year. To mark this anniversary, we’re bringing back many of the themes we’ve focused on over the last 25 years, like The Other Europeans, Ashkenaz I, New Yiddish Music, The Other Israel, Yiddish-Ottoman Roots & Routes, and much more.
You could say this year’s theme is “Best of YSW” :)   back

Where is YSW taking place?

The Johann Nepomuk Hummel Music School and the cultural space mon ami in Weimar, Germany, are the main venues for festival events, as well as the Other Music Academy and some other locations. Some events take place outdoors, bringing Yiddish music to the streets of the city. The series “Yiddish Summer Weimar goes Thuringia”, which will take place again this summer, also brings highlights of the festival to Erfurt, Eisenach, and many other cities and towns in the state of Thuringia.  back

Who is behind YSW?

The festival is organized by the Other Music Academy e.V., an association founded in 2006 that now has over 100 members in 10 countries. The Other Music Academy e.V. runs all the projects that are organized by the Other Music Academy (OMA), including YSW.
The OMA is our vision of an innovative institution: an empowerment center whose goal is to create an inclusive society, inviting a broad range of people to help actively shape our culture and their own role in it.

OMA is the brainchild of Dr. Alan Bern, the musical director of YSW and chairman of Other Music Academy e.V. Dr. Bern is supported by an international team of colleagues in the fields of music, culture, science and social affairs. Click on these links for more information about our philosophy, about the OMA, and about our wonderful and diverse projects at OMAworks. back

Why volunteer at YSW?

One of the goals of Yiddish Summer Weimar is to make Yiddish culture more visible and to give people from all over the world a chance to experience it and to develop it further. As a volunteer, you have a big part to play in making this goal a reality.
During your time at Yiddish Summer Weimar, you’ll get the chance to go behind the scenes of a major cultural festival. By working on different kinds of tasks, you’ll be able to use your existing strengths and learn new skills at the same time.
Through volunteering, you can get to know the international Yiddish culture community, get a taste of the workshops offered at the festival, exchange stories and experiences at informal get-togethers, and play music yourself at jam sessions. back

What’s new at YSW25 compared to past years?

Based on the experience of the last few years, we’ve made some changes to our volunteering program.

This year, YSW is divided into 4 blocks:
Block 1 (July 11 - July 22)
Block 2 (July 22 - August 2)
Block 3 (August 2 - August 10)
Block 4 (August 11 - August 19)

You can sign up as a volunteer for one or more blocks.

The first and last days of each block are always event-free days with nothing on the festival schedule. If you sign up for a block, you should plan to arrive on the first day of the block and leave on the last day. At the beginning of each block, we’ll have an introductory team meeting, and at the end, we’ll have a feedback round. These set block periods are required so that all volunteers can get a complete introduction to their tasks.

Within each block, there are five task areas. We’ll name and explain these under the next question.

For the duration of one block, you can sign up for one concrete task area. If you want to stay for two or more blocks, you can move to a different task area in each block (for example, you can do workshop support in the first block, events team in the second, and OMA care in the third).

Why?
In the past, we’ve encouraged volunteers to try out multiple task areas in the space of a week. From experience, we’ve learned that that made it hard to get more than a surface-level introduction to each area. This change, which means that you’ll focus on just one task area for about a week, will make it possible to learn your skills more fully.

If you sign up for two or three blocks, you’re welcome to take a workshop of your choice at no cost as our thanks for your work. If you’d like to do this, please write to us at .

If you’re between 18 and 30 and you’d like to come to Weimar for both of the last two blocks (August 4-18), please read the next answer about the ESC Team. back

What’s the ESC Team?

Are you between 18 and 30 and would you like to come to Weimar for both of the last two blocks of YSW (August 4-18)? Then we have a special offer for you. This year, YSW is putting together a volunteer team in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). If you’d like to take part, we can give you some pocket money and cover your travel costs as well as your free accommodation and lunch.

The number of participants in this program is limited, and registration will happen in two steps (for more about this, see our registration form).

This only applies to volunteers from Austria, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Egypt, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Greece, Georgia, Spain, France, Finland, Italy, Iceland, Kosovo, Lebanon, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, Latvia, Libya, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Morocco, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Syria, North Macedonia, Turkey, Tunisia, and Ukraine.

You can find more information here. back

What does the work involve?

This year, we’ve restructured our task areas. These are the different task areas you can sign up for:

1. Infopoint & Awareness Team
2. Workshop Support & Artist Buddy Team
3. Events Team
4. OMA Care Team
5. Catering Team

1. Infopoint & Awareness Team
   

   Tasks:
   Point of contact for artists, participants, and visitors; providing information, ticket sales, merchandise, photocopying tasks, Awareness Team work at events, cleaning tasks, and much more.
   This might be for you if:
   You like working with people, you’re a good listener, and you’re attentive, empathetic and organized.

2.  Workshop Support & Artist Buddy Team
   

   Tasks:
   Assisting teachers, technical support for workshops, direct point of contact for the artists.
   This might be for you if:
   You’re interested in the workshops, you’re ready to help out, and you’re responsible and punctual.

3. Events Team
   

   Tasks:
   Help setting up and breaking down before and after events, admission and drink sales, collecting donations, basic technical support and much more.
   This might be for you if:
   You’re active and hands-on, like working in a team, are comfortable handling (short-term) stressful situations and are an open communicator.

4. OMA Care Team

   Tasks:
   Preparing and cleaning before and after meals, keeping spaces clean, event support.
   This might be for you if:
   You like organization, you’re attentive and hands-on, you’re not afraid of communicating directly, and you like doing the dishes. :) (We have a dishwasher!)

5. Catering Team
   

   Tasks:
   Help preparing food for 50-100 people, support with grocery shopping.
   This might be for you if:
   You like cooking, you’re interested in learning new vegan and vegetarian recipes, and you’d like to get to know how a (small) industrial kitchen works. back

What are my responsibilities as a volunteer?

Our guiding principle here is: If you want to take responsibility for something, go for it! But don’t worry: no one gets held responsible for things that don’t go exactly as planned.  back

How long is the volunteering period?

This year, YSW is divided into 4 blocks:
Block 1 (July 11 - July 22)
Block 2 (July 22 - August 2)
Block 3 (August 2 - August 10)
Block 4 (August 11 - August 19)

The first and last days of each block are always event-free days with nothing on the festival schedule. If you sign up for a block, you should plan to arrive on the first day of the block and leave on the last day. At the beginning of each block, we’ll have an introductory team meeting, and at the end, we’ll have a feedback round.
You can sign up to volunteer for one or more blocks.

If you have some more time and, if applicable, you’d like to do an internship, you’re welcome to support us during the festival preparation in June/July and after the festival until the end of August. Do you like traveling and making content for social media? Or do you have a passion for administration and like working with numbers and contracts? We can offer some interesting internship opportunities for you! Please write to us at . back

How old do I have to be?

You have to be at least 18. We’re looking forward to having a cross-generational team of people aged 18 to 80 in which we can learn from each other’s experiences.  back

Will I get paid?

Your work is on a purely voluntary basis and is not paid.

If you sign up for two or three blocks, you’re welcome to take a workshop of your choice at no cost as our thanks for your work. If you’d like to do this, please write to us at . back

Do I get free accommodation?

YES! We’ll organize a room for you in a shared student apartment or with a host family. If you feel that you need a different standard of accommodation, we ask you to look for a suitable accommodation and finance it on your own. Weimar is a student city. You can find rooms for sublet here and here. If you have difficulties finding or financing a room, we’ll be happy to help you. back

Do I get free food?

Every day, we’ll serve a free vegetarian and vegan lunch buffet. We also provide free coffee, tea and water. You’ll need to organize your other meals. back

What expenses do I have to cover myself?

You’ll cover your travel costs to and from Weimar, as well as your food expenses beside lunch.*
If the standard of accommodation we can offer doesn’t meet your expectations, you’re welcome to find other accommodation, but we ask you to finance this yourself. As a volunteer, you’ll get free entry to all YSW events.

*If you need financial support for your travel costs and daily expenses to be able to participate in YSW, please see the question “What's the ESC Team?” back

How does volunteering work?

After you sign up on our online registration form, we’ll get in touch with you (this can take a few days). Before you come to Weimar, we’ll set up a zoom or phone call with you so we can get to know each other. Before you start volunteering, we’ll let you know about all the relevant information and the details about your accommodation. After you arrive in Weimar, you’ll be able to ask any questions that come up at the Infopoint. At the regular team meeting, there will be a general introduction and all the information you’ll need about your tasks. Every task area will also be led by a “Teamer,” and you can ask them any questions you have. back

Can I get my volunteer work accredited as an internship?

This depends on the internship requirements of your college or university. We’ll be happy to provide you with a written confirmation of your work for us, as well as a certificate on request. Many of our volunteers have been successful in getting internship accreditation! back

Will I receive a certificate for my work?

Absolutely! We’ll be happy to provide you with a confirmation of your work and a certificate. back

What skills should I have?

We welcome all who want to get involved and are open to YSW’s content and values.
Being a friendly, open person who is good at teamwork and enjoys interacting with others is a plus.
It also helps if you can respond flexibly to challenges, pitch in and contribute thoughts and feedback. In the descriptions of each task area, you’ll find some qualities that are helpful for those tasks. You’re still welcome if you don’t completely see yourself in those descriptions, though. Ideally, you should be able to communicate to some extent in German. If not, then very good English skills are a necessity. A driver’s license would also be an asset, but it’s not required. back

What should I bring with me?

Besides a healthy dose of motivation, curiosity and enthusiasm about what we do, we ask that you bring a smartphone, or at least a cellphone. Because the festival is somewhat decentralized, we’ve found that group chats are very helpful. A bike is a plus, but not a must.
There’s no dress code, but for safety when working on event support or in the kitchen, we ask that you bring closed-toe shoes.
We encourage you to pack your own water bottle so that we generate less waste.
Since some activities will take place outdoors, we recommend that you bring sun and rain protection. back

How do I register?

Please use the online registration form.
(The form will be open from April 2, 2025.) back

Whom do I contact?

Your contact is Antonia Ramljak. You can reach her at . back

I still have questions. Whom do I ask?

If you have more questions about volunteering, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Write to us at . back