What 30 Teenagers Learned Planning a Memorial Day Ceremony Together

Every year, the Memorial Day ceremony in a small Galilee community was organized by adults. This year, the local council invited BU students to take the lead.

A Meaningful Responsibility

Thirty teenagers from three schools formed a planning team. Their first task was to meet bereaved families from the community and listen to their stories.

Dividing the Work

The team split into groups: content and texts, music, logistics and communication with the families. Each group had a student coordinator who reported to a joint planning meeting every week.

Handling Sensitive Decisions

The students had to make difficult choices: which stories to share, how to speak about loss, and how to include families who preferred not to appear on stage. Their facilitators guided them, but the decisions were theirs.

"We understood that this ceremony belongs to the families. Our job was to make sure their voice was heard." – Noam, 16

The Ceremony

More than 400 residents attended. Several families thanked the students personally afterward.

Beyond the Event

The experience taught the participants about responsibility, teamwork and sensitivity. The council has asked the group to lead next year's ceremony as well.