Connecting Youth Leaders

This program developed out of the ‘From Experience to Action‘ program operated jointly by ‘Gesher’ and the Sapir Center. The ‘Connecting Young Leaders’ program promotes dialogue and joint social endeavor between youths from different sectors in each local authority.

Most Israeli youths study at separate sectorial schools and experience only superficial contact with youngsters from other sectors. As a result, their knowledge of “others” stems exclusively from the media or social networks.

This reality leads to feelings of alienation, foreignness, and social vulnerability,

and endangers the existence of a common cohesive Israeli society.

Local authorities and schools collaborate in the ‘Connecting Young Leaders’ program that is aimed at benefitting Israeli society by encouraging meetings, familiarity, and joint action.

Objectives:

1. To promote coexistence, mutual responsibility, collaborations, and respectful relations between residents of different sectors in the local authority-municipal domain.
2. To reduce mutual stereotypes and, instead, facilitate familiarity and the creation of mutual respect, affinity, and a sense of partnership and mutual belonging. This will be achieved out of a desire to create a common future based on a common denominator. This will be achieved out of a desire to create a common future based on a common denominator.
3. To impart practical tools and motivation aimed at promoting coexistence in common urban domains.
4. To cultivate local youth leadership that will connect the different sectors of society and lead to joint endeavor.

The Program’s Structure in Each Authority

Part 1: Teachers’ Meeting – a workshop and preliminary discussion for teachers from the different schools

Part 2: Joint Seminar – a 3-day seminar where the students from the participating schools meet (3-4 schools from different sectors in each authority). The seminar includes study, investigation of identity, discussion about their differences and similarities, and about coexistence.

Part 3: Leadership Course – a group of the students participating in the seminar is chosen as a leadership group where they participate in a further training course that addresses youth leadership and familiarity with tools designed to create meetings and connections within the community.

Part 4: Community Social Endeavor – the leadership group acts together to advance a joint social project that connects the different sectors and enhances the fabric of relations within their community. The group receives guidance and training from the project team and the local authority.

Target Audience

Schools from different sectors in Israel. Grades 10-12 in five different local authorities: Yeruham, Beit She’an, Nahariya, Kfar Sava, and Ashkelon.