The concept of “Tikkun Olam” is not merely a slogan at the University of Haifa. Since its founding nearly a half century ago, the University’s mission of social responsibility has been paramount to its commitment to academic excellence in teaching and research. The University supports and develops a wide range of academic and extracurricular programs that provide students and faculty with opportunities for building unity in the community and making a positive social impact promoting multiculturalism on campus, in Haifa, and well beyond the city’s borders. In the process, these programs generate a spirit of social cohesion that shapes the future leaders of social change.
Community Projects
The Flagship Program combines faculty members, students and administrative staff who work towards reducing levels of polarization, promoting solidarity and encouraging the integration of marginalized groups in Israeli society. The Flagship Program, led by Prof. Roni Strier from the School of Social Work of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, is a first of its kind in Israel. The program is conducted in cooperation with the Municipality of Haifa and the Leo Baeck Education Center.
“The program underscores the connection between community involvement and excellence in cultivating social capital and research,” explains Prof. Strier. “It combines teaching, academic research and social activism in the community through the integration of academics (students and faculty), professionals, social activists and community members in community action projects.” Since its establishment five years ago, more than 1,000 University of Haifa students from all our faculties took part in hands-on community work and socially-oriented academic courses. In addition, a diverse group of 150 professionals, social activists and residents of inner-city neighborhoods participated in on-site courses offered by the program, dealing with real issues including life-skills training, employment, education, child development, and public health. The experiences of participants aptly sum up the profound impact.
“We were here and the best lecturers came to us, the best tools and the richest knowledge were made accessible to us – in our homes!” – Program participant.
“The course strengthened my sense of commitment to the community. I now understand that the way to social change is through cooperation with the community, this way their voice can be heard.” – Social work student.
The Jewish-Arab Community Leadership Program, today in its 11th successful year, facilitates dialogue and multi-cultural social interaction between Jewish and Arab students. Generously sponsored by the German Friends Association and the David and Inez Myers Foundation, the program seeks to confront deep-seated prejudices, foster respect and tolerance, and develop joint leadership for social change. Student participants take part in weekly meetings, academic training courses throughout the year, and volunteer in mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhoods.
“The Jewish-Arab Community Leadership Program has opened up to me a whole new world of cultures, customs, and values… I have learned to become more accepting of others ....” notes Bat-El Ashkenazy, BA student majoring in Political Science and Middle East Studies.
“I believe that the program succeeded in building a group of leaders who are creating change with the help of positive energy, knowledge, support and tools which the course and the experience being in the program provided,” related Weaam Shaheena, BA student in the Department of Mathematics.
Academic Empowerment Programs
‘Access for All’ is a unique program opening up opportunities for higher education to adults from difficult socio-economic backgrounds, effectively promoting equal access to a university education. Today, some 2,400 students participated in the program all over Israel offering various annual courses in law, medicine, psychology, economics, and business administration given by 95 graduate instructing students. ‘Access for All’ at the University of Haifa is in its second year, with over 400 students. Each year 100 new students join the program, with completion rates reaching 80 percent.
The program is generously sponsored by Doron Livnat, an honorary doctorate degree recipient of the University of Haifa, the Matanel Foundation and the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) for the Council of Higher Education in Israel. Both students and teaching instructors have benefited tremendously from their participation in the program.
“I learned more about myself through ‘Access for All.’ The program empowers you. I guess before I didn’t believe in myself but now I see that I can succeed… and it all started here.” – Program participant.
“I realized that the program is actually helping me – it empowers me and provided me with self-confidence and has made me what I am today. It’s like magic, we truly are promoting society.” – Teaching instructor.
The International MA Program in Child Development recognizes that empowering children from underprivileged communities is a critical investment for a brighter tomorrow. Offered by the Center for the Study of Child Development in conjunction with the University’s International School, the program attempts to do just that – to train and prepare professionals to lead and advance initiatives in developing countries to improve the lives of children at risk. To this end, the curriculum was designed to support the UN Millennium Development Goals global partnership to reduce extreme poverty. This summer, the International MA Program in Child Development, generously supported by Mr. Eytan M. Stibbe (Vital Capital Fund) and the Open Society Foundation, celebrated the graduation of its second cohort of twenty-one students from 13 countries. Official representatives of Myanmar, Cameroon, Ghana and the Philippines attended the graduation ceremony, which was led by the program’s director, Prof. Avi Sagi-Schwartz. Essabela Fewo from the Republic of Cameroon delivered an impassioned acceptance speech on behalf of her classmates: “Now that we are going back home, let the passion for helping children continue to be our driving force so that together we will be able to improve the lives of the children and their families… Long live the MA program in Child Development, long live the University of Haifa, and long live the State of Israel.”
Graduates Inspiring Social Change
University of Haifa alumnus, Dr. Germaw Mengistu, is a shining example of a graduate who has made a giant leap for his community. Dr. Mengistu is an Ethiopian born Jew who immigrated to Israel in 1991. Two decades later he won a national short story competition that is having a lasting impact on the educational system in Israel. A recent decision by the Ministry of Education will make his tale entitled “A Dream at the Price of Honor” the first literary work on Ethiopian Jewry to be included in a new literature curriculum in Israeli public schools for the upcoming school year. Dr. Germaw Mengistu earned his PhD from the Department of Communication in 2016. During his studies, he was a recipient of a doctoral scholarship provided by the Polonsky Foundation in the UK. The University of Haifa faculty, student body and staff are very proud of his distinguished accomplishments.
During the 2016 Board of Governors Meeting, the German Friends hosted a reception for students participating in its sponsored academic projects, six in all. The reception featured greetings by the German Ambassador to Israel, H.E. Dr. Clemens von Goetze (a guest of the Haifa Center for German and European Studies), a dialogue about empowerment and coexistence with Sonja Lahnstein- Kandel, President of the German Friends Association and Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Dr. Dalia Fadila, President of Al Qasemi Academy, and a keynote address by Prof. Majid Al-Haj, Founding Director of the Center for Multiculturalism and Educational Research.