Your Family’s Story Is Still Waiting to Be Found

Maybe it started with a DNA test that turned up a country you didn’t expect. Maybe it was a photo in a shoebox. Maybe it was a grandparent, a great-aunt, a name no one in the family could quite remember. Maybe it was a single sentence passed down at a holiday table: we think we came from somewhere near Odessa.

However it starts, the pull is the same: there’s a story in your family that hasn’t been told yet, and you want to find it.

You’re not alone. An estimated 16 million people around the world identify as Jewish by religion, culture, or ethnicity. When you include people with Jewish ancestry who may not actively identify that way, including many who’ve only recently discovered it through DNA testing, that number grows to 20–25 million. That’s a lot of unfinished stories.

You don’t have to find it alone

For more than 40 years, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) has connected people doing exactly this kind of research. We do this through local Jewish genealogical societies, shared resources, and an annual international conference that brings the community together to learn, share, and dig deeper.

Whether you’re just starting to ask questions or you’ve been tracing your family tree for years, this community exists to help you go further than you could on your own.

Save the date: our upcoming global virtual conference

We’re excited to announce the 46th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, taking place virtually April 4–6, 2027.

Because this year’s conference is fully virtual, it’s also fully global. That means no flights, no hotel rooms, no time zone you’re excluded from. Live sessions will run from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET, and every registered attendee will also get 90 days of on-demand access to recorded sessions, so you can learn on your own schedule.

The program will include:

• Lectures and workshops on research methods, records, and tools
• Storytelling sessions, where attendees share their own family discoveries
• Panels and roundtables on topics shaping the field
• Special interest group programming for specific regions, family histories, and research areas
• New formats, including short “lightning talks” and casual “schmooze sessions” — because some of the best research tips come from conversation, not lecture

That last part matters to us. We’ve built in real opportunities to connect with fellow family history seekers, researchers, expert speakers, and exhibitors through live video chats and breakout rooms and more. Genealogy has always been a community activity as much as an individual one, and we wanted the virtual format to reflect that, not just replicate a lecture hall on a screen.

As IAJGS President Susan Weinberg put it:

Our 2027 virtual conference is designed to meet Jewish genealogists, family historians, educators, and community leaders wherever they are — geographically, professionally, and in their research journeys. With expanded hours, varied session formats, and both live and pre-recorded programming, we are creating a dynamic global experience that invites new ideas, deeper conversations, and broader participation from across the Jewish community.

New to this? Start here.

You don’t need to already be “a genealogist” to belong at this conference. Are you just beginning? Maybe you’re curious about a name, a photo, or a fragment of your family history. There will be sessions built for exactly that starting point, alongside more advanced tracks for people further along in their research.

What’s next

A call for session proposals will open soon, inviting speakers, researchers, historians, and community members from around the world to share new and reimagined content. Registration details, sponsorship opportunities, and the full conference program will be announced in the coming months.

As it becomes available, information will be posted on the IAJGS conference website.