Apr 15, 2010 -- Over 200 high school students from more than 18 day schools across North America will meet on April 25-27 to hone their leadership skills at the Eimatai National Leadership Conference in Stamford, Connecticut. Eimatai, a project of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future, aims to cultivate the leaders of tomorrow by empowering high school students to confront community challenges, and offering them the support they need to succeed in making positive contributions to their schools and communities. “Our hope is for students to gain a sense of responsibility for the communities they live in and to feel empowered to return home as active and involved Jewish citizens,” explained Aaron Steinberg, director of Eimatai. “Students will be able to share their ideas and passions, resulting in vibrant discussion, debates and lasting connections.” The program, now in its 11th year, will convene for three days of leadership training, group discussions, project planning and inspiration. The theme for this year’s program is “Opening Our Eyes to Poverty,” which the young men and women will engage in from a number of different angles – appreciating the various causes and manifestations of poverty, the nature of their obligation to address poverty and the various methods and tools they can use to combat it. As part of the program students will spend one of the days volunteering at a local food bank and hear from guest speakers including YU President Richard M. Joel, who will discuss leadership; John Dau, former Lost Boy and survivor of the Sudanese civil war, who will be talking about his life experiences and his foundation that provides health services to Sudan; and Ari Teman, comedian and social activist (JCorps). For more information about Eimatai and programs available visit www.eimatai.org or contact (212) 960-5261 or eimatai@yu.edu. Eimatai is generously supported by the Jim Joseph Foundation.