Yiddish language and culture are an integral part of the spiritual heritage of the Jewish people. For about 800 years, Yiddish was the spoken language of the majority of European Jews and Jewish immigrants to other counties. In fact, it was the language of two‐thirds of the Jewish people prior to 1939. To make a contribution to the preservation of the Yiddish language and culture, the World Jewish
Congress decided to establish the World Jewish Congress International Yiddish Center in Vilnius, Lithuania. Vilnius, otherwise called Vilna, was one of the main centers of Eastern European Jewish and Yiddish culture, known as the ‘Jerusalem of the North’, a place of Yiddish education, journalism, literature and theater. YIVO ‐‐ the first academic Institute for Yiddish research ‐‐ was established 90 years ago in Vilna. There are few places in the world more suitable for the revival of Yiddish culture and language than Vilnius. The center will offer intensive short seminars, summer schools and the systematic study of the Yiddish culture through (online) distance learning. Its target audience are teachers, Jewish educators, college and university students, Jewish communities, Jewish cultural leaders and the wider public.
