Aleksandra Wilczura
Aleksandra was born and raised in Wroclaw, Poland. She's president of both the Cukunft Jewish Association and the Hasmonea Jewish Sports Club in Poland, two non-governmental organizations whose purpose is to educate and integrate people of Jewish origin into Polish and European civil society, and combat antisemitism, xenophobia and all forms of social exclusion. She is an author, co-author, and editor of numerous books and articles devoted to Jewish culture, history, and the Middle East. After finishing her degree in Middle and Far Eastern studies and Jewish studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Aleksandra continued her education at Oxford University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and WZO: The Center for Diaspora Communications. Currently, Aleksandra is editor-in-chief of Studia Bliskowschodnie: The Middle East Studies Academic Magazine (www.studiabliskowschodnie.pl) published by the Institute of the Middle and Far East (Jagiellonian University). Her educational and cultural projects deal with anti-discrimination education, combating antisemitism and social exclusion, marking the Jewish presence in the Polish public sphere, and empowering Jewish women in Poland. She is also involved in #CookJewishBeJewish Project (2015 ROI Grassroots). As a young adult, she was president of the Polish Union of Jewish Students (PUSZ) in Krakow (2001-2005). She also co-founded Czulent Jewish Association (2005) and Hamsa, the first Zionist youth organization to exist in Poland since 1968 (2006). Also in 2006, Aleksandra was appointed director of the Jewish Agency in Poland and Kalliningrad District.