World ORT and the Estonian Government have signed an agreement which paves the way for a greater role for ORT in the development of the Baltic state's education system. The country's only Jewish school formally affiliated with World ORT in 2008 but the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Tallinn this week stands to benefit the whole of Estonian society. According to World ORT Trustee Dr. Emil Kalo, "It's a sign of World ORT's commitment to Estonia. This strategic framework agreement shows the direction which we will take together in implementing new projects in education. It extends beyond the Jewish school and opens up a wide range of partnering possibilities and to seek European Union funding." The Memorandum of Understanding formalizes World ORT's long standing willingness to share its … Continue Reading
Sandy Cardin: “Viva La Revolución”
With representation from 16 countries, ROI’s Ibero-American Gathering opened last night in Buenos Aires. This, ROI's second Latin American gathering, was hopping from the opening minutes. The ruach of almost 50 Latinos electric throughout the hotel. Developed in co-ordination with local program partners including Hillel Argentina, ORT Mexico and Taglit-Birthright Argentina, this five day program of unique networking and skill-building sessions will move the needle by "harnessing and elevating our collective impact in creating a Jewish future that is vibrant, relevant and widely accessible." (Justin Korda, ROI Community's executive director). Speaking at the opening program, Sandy Cardin - president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, discussed "the role each of you play … Continue Reading
Future Leaders Program: Israel Leg
The Ministry of Information and the Diaspora, in conjunction with World ORT and Stephen Muss, launched a new project this year aimed at inspiring and nurturing the next generation of leadership for local Jewish communities across Europe and the Former Soviet Union. An initial cohort of 32 students, representing 18 countries and between 15 and 18 years old, was selected based on the quality of their applications and the dedication that they had already demonstrated to their schools and in their Jewish communities. The programs' aim is to nurture their leadership potential and to help them to become fully involved in their communities, dedicating their energy, enthusiasm, and skills towards building long-term, sustainable change - helping to revitalize Jewish life and to actively contribute to the … Continue Reading
World’s Leading Holocaust Music Website to be Launched in Berlin
The formal launch of the world's leading website on music in the Holocaust is to be a key event at this week's historic meeting of World ORT's Board of Representatives in Berlin. The meeting marks World ORT's first function in the city where it became established as an international organization since the war. The website, which features more than 100 recordings and more than 300 articles written by a team of 20 academics, researchers and Survivors, fills what was perhaps the largest single gap in understanding the Holocaust. The need for this website is evident when one considers that I have found so little information devoted to music during the Holocaust in the 27,000 pages - 29 volumes - of the 2001 edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians," said Mr Marks, a former … Continue Reading
ORT Supported Schools Win Top Israeli Education Prize
President Shimon Peres and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar have announced that the Nesher Comprehensive High School, near Haifa, and the Levinson High School in Kiryat Yam have won the prestigious National Education Award. Both schools are supported by World ORT. Nearly 80 schools entered the year-long award process, which involved close scrutiny of all aspects of the educational and social life of each institution. A Ministry of Education spokesman said the prize winners were characterized by their extraordinary efforts to minimize gaps and prevent students from dropping out; by their support for underachievers, giving them the confidence to reach their goals; by their activities for students with special needs; and for the way they instill the importance of community involvement. Levinson … Continue Reading
Nurturing Europe’s New Jewish Leadership
A new World ORT program aims to bury the notion that Europe is a graveyard for Jewish culture and activism. The Future Leaders Program has brought together 34 teenagers from Ireland to Russia - 18 countries in all - for the first face-to-face sessions in its six-month schedule of training, education, distance learning and volunteering. “When people talk about Jewish communities it’s often the USA and Israel while Europe is sometimes referred to as the ‘graveyard of Europe’, the place where their grandparents and great-grandparents are buried,” the Head of World ORT's Education Department, Daniel Tysman, told participants and guests at ORT House, London, this week. “But it’s very clear from seeing you all here today that Europe isn’t a graveyard; Europe is full of green … Continue Reading
ORT Russia and Project Kesher Partner with Computer Training Courses
If you think that women should not bother their pretty little heads with technology then you had better stop reading now. Because ORT Russia has partnered with Project Kesher for their first course in training professionals who will go on to use a new Hewlett-Packard course to help thousands of women master technological tools in the administration and marketing of small businesses. The two organizations have enjoyed a long and successful collaboration in tackling the “digital divide” through the computer training they offer at 17 ORT-KesherNet training centers in Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine, which has so far enabled more than 11,000 Jewish and non-Jewish women to improve their economic situation. Now they are upping the ante by training nine trainers in HP’s LIFE (Learning … Continue Reading
Investment in Smart Classrooms in Israel Soars
World ORT is bringing 1000 interactive classes to schools in Israel's peripheral communities. The organization's goal is to raise the standard of Israeli education and World ORT has now received a major boost with the Government's commitment to help it expand its pioneering roll-out of 'smart classrooms' into a NIS 100 million ($27.5 million) project. A further NIS 21.5 million ($5.9 million) has been set aside for their program to create six Centers of Excellence - three in the Galilee and three in the Negev - to provide enrichment activities for high-achieving students and help for other students to improve their results and broaden their skills. Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee and Vice Prime Minister, Sylvan Shalom, made the announcement at ceremonies marking … Continue Reading
The Ramon Planetarium Center Dedicated in Kiryat Yam
The newest planetarium show in the world premiered last week in Kiryat Yam, Israel, on the occasion of the opening of The Ramon Planetarium Center, named in memory of Israeli astronaut Colonel Ilan Ramon, who lost his life in the Columbia shuttle disaster. The opening coincided with Ramon's yahrzeit and the annual Science and Space Memorial Seminar, developed by World ORT, that also takes place on the anniversary of his death. The seminar brings together 200 10th grade students from around the country, who are a part of the Kadima Mada school network, for a day to stimulate interest in science and space. Speaking at the event, Menachem Greenblum, Director General of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said: "If we want our children to major in science at high school we need to get them … Continue Reading
Israel’s Supreme Court Rules on Use of ORT Name
The "Fat Lady Sang". In this case, the Israeli Supreme Court has ended the long-simmering legal disagreement concerning the use of the ORT name in Israel. The Court concluded, "WO is entitled, in its activity in Israel, to use its full name, in English only, including the words "World Ort" and without any addition in Hebrew. It has also allowed WO to use the logo that WO "is currently using" (or, actually, was using before the most recent decisions of Judge Ginat in the contempt proceedings, i.e. the newer logo in which the words "World Ort" appear on the globe)." The Court further found, (1) Ort Israel's motive in fighting against the use by WO of the name "Ort", was apparently to try to preserve Ort Israel's monopoly over philanthropic educational activity in Israel. This interest, … Continue Reading
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