Chana Mrocki
Memorial Mentorship
Program
די חנה מראָצקי אָנדענק פּראָגראַם
About the Program
Chana Mrocki (nee Korman) was one of the first members of SKIF in Melbourne in 1950. She participated in SKIF as a youth group leader on a voluntary basis for five years (1954-1959) and was a member of Tsukunft. She continued to do voluntary work for SKIF, helping to mentor new helfer, and preparing SKIFistn for performances including the April 19th commemoration from 1960 until her passing.
She was a fabulous teacher who was beloved by her students, colleagues and the parent bodies of the schools in which she taught.
Chana and her husband, Moishe, wrote and edited the English language section of the book ‘60 Years of the Jewish Labour Bund in Melbourne’, so that people who are not literate in Yiddish would be able to learn about our history. They worked on this text for three years.
All those who knew Chana knew her incredible dedication to Yiddish, the Bund and our community. She was an eternal teacher, acting as a mentor across several generations for members of the community.
The Chana Mrocki Memorial Mentorship has been set up to honour Chana’s legacy by cultivating specifically Bundist Yiddish Arts through providing a series of workshops, either virtually or in-person, with key prominent professionals in the field of leftist Yiddish Arts. The mentorship is designed for creating new cultural works in Yiddish on Bundist themes – this includes, but is not limited to Bundist history, political issues (past, current and future), and ideology. The workshops will be run annually, culminating in the new works being exhibited or premiered at the annual Bund yoyvl.
Who can apply?
To be eligible for this program you must;
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be aged 18 or over
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have intermediate or advanced Yiddish language skills
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have experience in the field of social justice, politics or community work
Program Structure
Step 1. The mentee (individual receiving mentorship) will notify the program coordinator of their goals for the mentorship
Step 2. Mentees will begin to meet with the mentor for a month of weekly compulsory sessions.
Step 3. Throughout the month, mentees will work on a new artistic piece in Yiddish which reflects the values of the Bund.
Step 4. The mentor program is finalised, with reflection on how the mentee has been able to address their goal.
Step 5. The work of the mentees is to be premiered at an event of the choosing of the Jewish Labour Bund.
Mentor for 2025
This year's mentor will be award-winning writer Arnold Zable. The mentorship will be open to Australian writers (established and aspiring) and will take place between December 2025 and January 2026.
Arnold Zable is an acclaimed writer, novelist, storyteller and human rights advocate, and a recipient of the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. His books include Jewels and Ashes, Wanderers and Dreamers, Café Scheherazade, Scraps of Heaven, Sea of Many Returns, The Fig Tree, Violin Lessons, The Fighter, and most recently The Glass Horse of Venice, and The Watermill, a quartet of tales exploring themes of survival, displacement and resistance spanning the globe. His works range from novels, short stories, memoir, to children’s books, poetry, biography, radio documentary and works for theatre. A passionate traveller, and longtime activist with PEN International, Arnold has lived and worked in a range of countries, and has advocated for engagement across national borders, and for diverse voices and languages in Australian literature. As a lifelong lover of Yiddish, whose writings include works for Yiddish theatre, and novels that experiment with Yiddish syntax, Arnold is delighted to be a mentor in a memorial program named after his dear friend, Chana Mrocki.
Important Dates
28th November 2025 - Applications Close (5pm)
Dec-Jan Mentorship Sessions Take Place
Apply Now
To apply, please complete the submission form below and email it to bundmelbourne@gmail.com by 5pm on Friday the 28th of November.