The Edmond de Rothschild Partnerships, established in 2016 by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation as its non-profit operative branch, acts to reduce disparities in Israeli society and ensure equal opportunities for youngsters from Israel's socio-geographic periphery. It was established to create one home for EdR Partnerships young leadership programs.

We believe that investing in young leadership, with an emphasis on fair representation of youngsters from the socio-geographic periphery, will have a tremendous impact on changing Israel's social climate, and result in a equitable, balanced Israeli society, in which the common good is shared more fairly.

The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, Israel, works to create a more just society, and a unified and involved citizenry. The Foundation's efforts are directed toward initiating profound, long-lasting changes in Israeli society, with the aim of promoting an excellent and diversified leadership, via enabling them to acquire academic educations. Continuing the 130- year-plus of the Rothschild family's philanthropic heritage, the Foundation fulfills the family's long-standing commitment to the pioneering spirit of Israel, and invests in change agents and advancing Israel's new, contemporary pioneers.

We have undertaken a task that is far from simple, but are sure that we can accomplish it together. The training process in our programs is weighty and intensive. The process begins by choosing young, ambitious leaders from the socio-geographic periphery of Israel, and continues by reinforcing their self-confidence, behaviours and actions in working to reduce societal disparities and advance the common good.

We've come a good part of the way, but we still have a lot of work to do. Within the race of daily life, in which many good people are preoccupied with "here and now" and "me and my family", you: the participants and graduates of our various programs, have chosen to go on a long, especially challenging journey, a stirring and steadfast journey. That journey entails creating partnerships as part of a platform for growth, leadership and values, with others who share a vision of Israeli society.

Organization's Vision
An Israeli society in which each and every individual has an equal chance to impact society, fulfill their dreams, realize their potential, and succeed regardless of gender, geography, ethnicity, culture, or religion, thus constituting a sustainable model for a shared society.

Organization's Mission
Develop a young, diverse cadre of future leaders, primarily from Israel's socio-geographic periphery who will work to build socio-economic strength and reduce disparities in Israeli society. These leaders will undertake various positions of influence, from which they will promote partnerships between the diverse communities that form Israeli society.

Kav Hazinuk is the oldest of the leadership programs operated by The Edmond de Rothschild Partnerships. Established in 2002, the program has been training promising youngsters, primarily from Israel's socio-geographic periphery, ever since. Kav Hazinuk is the only program in Israel that runs for ten years; the participants start at age 15 and continue until age 25. The aim of Kav Hazinuk is for these youngsters to develop leadership abilities, so that they become change agents, effecting improvements in Israeli society from a sense of their own capabilities and a deep and positive connection to their own identities. Thus, they will be in positions to lead change in Israeli society in general, and reduce disparities in the communities in which they grew up, in particular.

With 450 participants per year, Kav Hazinuk groups operate throughout Israel, in five regions: The Upper Galilee and Golan, the Western Galilee, the Tel Aviv Megalopolis [Gush Dan], Jerusalem and the Negev. By design, the participants are recruited from the various groups that compose Israel's mosaic of identities: Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze; religious, traditional and secular; females and males; from development towns, moshavim, kibbutzim, and cities; from different ethnic backgrounds and countries of origin. The Kav Hazinuk population is in essence a microcosm of Israeli society. This inherent diversity derives from our view that a need exists for young leaders who reflect the tapestry of Israeli society to become a cadre imbued with the values of pluralism and solidarity. Learning and sharing experiences gives them the ability to communicate across ethnic, cultural and religious divisions, finding commonalities and creating partnerships with every group in Israel.

Utilizing a carefully developed structure, Kav Hazinuk works in three stages of training, each one building on the previous one: high school stage; service (national or army) and community involvement stage; academic and career stage. The program emphasizes experiential activities for its participants: group sessions, workshops, meetings with key figures in Israeli society, training courses, volunteering and developing social initiatives, personal mentoring and guidance, accelerators for scaling up social projects, and more.

The model on which Kav Hazinuk is based is a unique, innovative one for leadership development, custom-made for the program. Each year, the participants learn and put into practice various aspects of the program's five modules: proactivity, effective partnerships, authentic leadership, motivating inspiration, and adaptive leadership. Thus, Kav Hazinuk focuses on empowerment, leadership development, a personal sense of ability and capability, and social awareness.

Program Structure
Kav Hazinuk is carefully structured in three stages:
Stage 1: 10th grade to the end of high school.
Stage 2: Military/national service, community involvement.
Stage 3: Academia and career development.
Participants develop on three axis: personal identity; as members of a diverse and heterogeneous group; as change agents.

Masar is a socio-educational leadership program, established by EdR Partnerships in 2018 together with the Ministry of Education, in order to establish a young cadre of future leaders of the Arab-Israeli community, committed to social change and bettering the lives of the people in their communities. Masar identifies youngsters with high motivation and leadership potential and addresses the obstacles they face in order to reach academia, successfully complete their studies and enter the workforce in meaningful positions. In a one-year 5-day week intensive program, Masar provides these youngsters with experiential learning, social development, tools and life skills. In Masar they learn by doing: gaining experience and acquiring skills by working for society's benefit; deepening their sense of belonging to Israeli society while cultivating their community identity. Masar graduates are becoming change agents, working throughout Israel to create a sustainable, equitable society.

The Need
The age of 18 constitutes a challenging crossroads in Arab society: high school graduates need to decide about and plan for their future. Too often, their options are limited from the outset, by a severe lack of parity in education compared to their Jewish contemporaries.

As an organization that strives to reduce inequalities in society, EdR Partnerships makes significant efforts to recruit promising Arab youngsters into our programs. In doing so, we found that many motivated youngsters with leadership potential, have great difficulties in keeping up, both with various aspects of our programs and with their academic studies. The problems arise due to a systemic failure of the educational system in Arab towns and villages, who suffer from underfunding. Significant disparities exist between what is necessary to successfully integrate into academia and society in general, and the skills and knowledge that Arab youngsters acquired during their educations.

Moreover, many Arab students have to overcome language difficulties; having grown up, for the most part, in exclusively Arabic speaking communities, their facility in Hebrew is often not commensurate with the demands of academia. Some have left villages to go to university in Israel's large cities. Adjusting to urban life, when this is often the first time that they are surrounded by a non-Arab population, while simultaneously adjusting to college, presents additional challenges to the Arab students. They are also younger than their college classmates, who have usually served in the military or done national service before beginning their academic studies. Many of the Arab youngsters are also the first in their families to go to college. Without a clear idea of what to expect, the reality can be overwhelming.

To overcome these disparities and difficulties, Masar is designed to address their collective and individual needs, and assist these promising students to overcome the obstacles they face at the beginning of their college careers, and achieve parity with their Jewish peers. The program fosters their sense that they are capable of getting academic educations and impacting society.

Project Goals and Objectives

1. Establish a young cadre of future leaders of the Arab-Israeli community, with positive values, committed to social change and bettering the lives of the people in their communities.
2. Deepen the participants' sense of belonging to Israeli society while cultivating their community identity, and their commitment to the future of Arab society in Israel.
3. Instill in each participant, who is already motivated and has leadership and academic potential, the tools, life skills, and a sense that they are capable of leading and effecting change. More, that they can be personally and academically successful, seeing their futures as pro-active, ambitious, and impactful on society.
4. Provide opportunities for the Masar students to participate in social change projects, so as to provide them with skills, including how to work cooperatively with others, tools in planning and implementing projects, encompassing the processes involved, and the experience of success.

The program currently operates in two centers: Wadi 'Ara ['Iron River Valley] and in Arraba in the Galilee, both serving the towns and villages in the areas.

The Rothschild Ambassadors program, established in 2010 by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation as its flagship program, is for undergraduate students, primarily from Israel's socio-geographical periphery, studying in institutions of higher education. The program's mission is to develop personal and social excellence in students who are committed to social activism and change, working with them and preparing them to be the future leaders of Israel, imbued with the values of humanism, solidarity, and a broad, inclusive perception of society.

Higher education constitutes a springboard for social mobility and for youngsters from Israel's socio-geographic periphery, to better integrate into the work force. The Ambassador Program recruits promising students from diverse backgrounds and trains and mentors them in groups in nine colleges and universities throughout Israel. In addition to acquiring professional skills and academic knowledge, the Ambassadors, who are frequently insular, are introduced to people from other religions, cultures, traditions and ethnic backgrounds, that comprise the fabric of Israeli society. The three-year program guides this process rather than leaving it to chance, forming groups of students from disparate backgrounds, who learn to work together to realize their commitment to social change. As they interact, they get to know each other as individuals, and gradually learn about each other's cultures and backgrounds. After learning and working closely for three years, they come to rely on each other's abilities and talents.

Every year, approximately 300 students participate in the Ambassadors program, with 100 new Ambassadors joining the program each year.

Three-Year Model
Ambassadors commit to four – six hours per week of individual involvement in a project, plus four hours performing social tasks as part of the group. They participate in three national conferences, and various lectures and workshops given by visiting experts, enriching their Ambassador experience and reinforcing their connection to the program and to each other.

Throughout the three years, the participants study and process four foundational topics, in different ways and with different approaches:

• Leadership stemming from one's identity.
• Becoming part of a heterogeneous group.
• Impact and leadership in local settings.
• Social change in Israel's various population groups.

In order to become a more just society and reduce the existing inequality, Israel needs to improve and professionalize the quality and services provided by its local governments, particularly in the country's socio-geographic periphery and minority communities.

EdR Partnerships believes that the key to social change is investing in and training motivated young people in the skills necessary to effect change. The Cadets for Local Government program identifies and trains young people with leadership potential and the desire to become change agents. We believe that training the Cadets as a cadre of dynamic municipal leaders for the socio-geographic periphery, will bring renewed energy, professionalism and a higher quality of services. The Cadets Program aims to change the face of Israel's local governments, thereby strengthening the social fabric of Israeli society.

Cadets for Local Governments is part of the government-initiated strategic plan for augmenting the work force for public service, Atudot L'Yisrael [Future Cadres for Israel]. The program operates in partnership with the Ministries of Interior and Education; and the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel.

The Program recruits candidates, primarily from Israel's socio-geographic periphery, for its three tracks – graduate students in Urban Planning at the Technion, and in Public Administration at Haifa University; undergraduates students for Informal Education at Oranim College. After multi-tiered, customized screening, the most qualified are accepted. The students receive full scholarships and living stipends.

Along with their academic studies, in their respective fields, the Cadets are trained to become civil servants in local governments, via weekly training sessions, symposia and off-campus seminars. The program is designed to be holistic, with the weekly sessions linked to what the Cadets are studying academically. The Cadets also do internships in local governments in order to gain hands-on experience and knowledge about the work of local governments in Israel.

Upon completing their studies, the Cadets are placed in key positions in local governments, where they can utilize their studies and practical experience to professionalize the local civil service, listen to local residents and provide them – our ultimate target population – with improved municipal services and leadership for future development. The Cadets commit to working in their local governments for four years, with the expectation that they will advance to senior positions over time, in either that municipality or in other local governments.

Internships
An extremely important and efficacious feature of the Cadets program are the internships [practicums] in local governments, in which the Cadets participate during the program. The local governments are themselves carefully screened, and commit to providing the Cadets with meaningful work in their field, supervision and mentoring by senior staff in their departments, opportunities for the Cadets to get to know other staff members, etc. The object is two-fold: The Cadets get real, practical experience and hands-on knowledge on how the local government functions, the tasks of the various professionals and staff members, and an understanding of what their positions will be like after they complete their degrees and the Cadet training, and are placed in local governments. The local governments get educated, motivated, knowledgeable interns, who can provide real assistance to financially strapped local governments. They also get a taste of what the Cadets can provide, and invariably request that graduate Cadets be placed permanently in their governments. An important feature of the training and the internships is to ensure that the Cadets are professional but retain a sense of humility; they will be working with people who have held their positions for years, and would likely resent overbearing educated newcomers.

Thus, beginning in the 2018-2019 academic year, some 30 fellows were nominated, to be joined by a similar number annually, to form a learning community. Senior academicians, e.g. Rectors and Vice Rectors, Faculty and School Deans, and former department heads as well as senior administrators.

The program combines a problem-solving approach with skill development. The fellows learn to identify the various challenges, and search or develop solutions based on best practices, originating in Israel or abroad.

In order to assist the fellows in navigating the complex factors and myriad potential solutions, a core tenet of the program is to instill a “leadership state of mind”. Such a change in their self-perception and view of their roles is the foundation for any initiatives and changes that they will undertake.

The program is intensive. Entailed are nine seminars in Israel, each lasting two to three days each for a total of 20 days; and 10-14 days abroad, with two field trips, one to Europe and one to the US. Given their extensive experience, their diversified knowledge and learning capabilities, the fellows take an active role in structuring the various activities.

As respected, senior academicians and administrators in their respective institutions, the participating fellows are expected to maintain those positions or advance to even higher positions. In both situations, they are and will be in positions that enable them to train and activate others in their institutions, forming networks of academic leaders within and between institutions. Most importantly, the participants will see themselves, and will be perceived by others, as leaders in many aspects of societal change, particularly in creating a more equitable society in Israel. In sum, the initiative promises to create a nurturing eco-system for more and more talented faculty members and administrators to step up and skillfully assume leadership roles, focused on integrating academic and organizational excellence with social responsibility.

Israeli Hope in Academia, an initiative established by President Reuven Rivlin in 2016, derives from his understanding of the social, economic and educational assets of the academic field, and the need for a strategy that completes and compliments the sectorial access programs already operating under the auspices of the Council for Higher Education.

President Rivlin's vision is to bring together the "tribes" that form Israeli society, in various activities under the broad rubric of Israeli Hope. The purpose of these activities is to develop and reinforce the partnership between the population sectors of Israeli society in various areas, principally: education, academia, employment, sports and local government.

Israeli Hope in Academia strives to encourage a more diverse and culturally competent higher education system, which works to prepare graduates for life in a society valuing partnerships, and is committed to their positive participation in the workforce.

Action is taken aimed to create meaningful and broad cooperative efforts between individuals and organizations from the public, the private and the voluntary sectors that help to promote new standards in that area.

The academic sphere is a central engine in which Israeli human capital is developed, and is often the first meeting place where young adults from all sectors of society come together under a single roof. Therefore, higher education plays a central role in shaping the character and leadership of the future of Israeli society.

The Alumni Network of the Edmond de Rothschild Partnerships is composed of more than 1,200 alumni of its young leadership programs, including Kav Hazinuk, The Cadets Program, Masar, and Rothschild Ambassadors. Each year, 120 graduates of the programs join. The Network thus has a continually fresh and developing character, one that encourages constant innovation and exploration of new and better ways of doing things.

Participation in the programs instill in the alumni exceptional knowledge and awareness, sensitivity and understanding of the various identities that compose Israeli society. Our alumni are imbued with the organization's values and can-do attitude: that their individual knowledge and abilities can be utilized together to address the challenges of Israel's increasingly unequal and fragmented society; that everyone can, and is expected to be, pro-active in improving society. Pro-activism is the guiding principle of all of the Partnerships' programs, and of course becomes central to the alumni's lives after they complete the programs.

The Torch-Bearers
The Alumni come from different and varied backgrounds, reflecting the religions and religiosity, geographical range and types of communities, cultures and genders, represented in Israeli society. They are involved in different professional and vocational worlds. Each one has their various and varying individual abilities, different degrees of authority due to their work and activism and their "special sauce" – of ambitions, dreams and personalities, the identities with which they began the programs and their social aspirations.

We believe – we know – that the joint activities, based on the complex and unique montage of identities that form Israeli society, enables them to be our torch-bearers. The connections, the networking and the activism, their initiatives to change the present reality, will help ensure equal opportunities for each person in society, and a more equal society.