10 | August | 2013

9 August 2013

The 33rd IAJGS International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference in Boston MA, USA was held from Aug 4 to 9.

This is the annual gathering of Jewish Genealogists from across the world who meet to discuss all aspects of genealogy from re examination of old family history documents, hundreds of years old, to new research methods such as DNA testing. Emphasis is on methodology as opposed to “story telling”, so attendees, who are both professionals and amateurs, take the conference seriously. At the end of each session, old colleagues and friends, and new acquaintances, greet each other in the corridors before moving on to the next talk, workshop or meeting.

On the last night, four awards are presented to a select group of achievers. This year JewishGen Kehilalinks won the award for the “Outstanding Contribution to Jewish Genealogy via the Internet, Print or Electronic Product”.

KehilaLinks has encouraged and assisted the creation of over 600 web pages commemorating the places where Jews have lived. The pages provide valuable information for each community, including maps, photographs, historical accounts, databases, links to other resources, and more. KehilaLinks pages also serve as a networking base for people interested in these ancestral communities. Introduced in 1996 as ShtetLinks, the project was renamed in 2011 to reflect its inclusion of Jewish communities throughout the world.

To view my kehilalinks, visit:

http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/muizenberg/Kehilalinks.html

The Boston Park Hotel has been a hive of activity for the past 6 days and now everyone has packed up their family trees and are on their way home.

Here is the Australian contingent who journeyed from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to the Conference: