The Etgarim Plan for Informal Education in Arab Society in Israel — The Launch of a Master Plan
The five-year plan for the economic development of Arab communities, from 2016 to 2020, which was approved in Government Resolution 922 (GR-922) on December 30, 2015, is considered an important milestone in government policy regarding Israel’s Arab population. The government approved an unprecedented allocation of NIS 15 billion for the development of social and economic spheres such as education, public transportation, industry and trade, employment, housing, culture, and internal security. The Arab communities included in the plan are defined as areas of national priority.
One area of particular emphasis is informal education in Arab society. This is a historic measure in terms of the resolution itself, as well as on the budgetary level: as part of the resolution, 650 million shekels have been allocated for informal education in Arab society.
Two years after the government adopted GR-922, the Israel Democracy Institute’s Arab-Jewish Relations Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education’s Society and Youth Administration will hold a day-long seminar to discuss the reform in informal education in Arab society in Israel. The purpose of the discussion is to assess the reform’s accomplishments and the obstacles that stand in its way, map the current state of informal education in Arab society, and offer practical recommendations for implementation.
Credit: Oded Antman
Conference Program
9:30–10:00 | Arrival
10:00–10:20 |Opening remarks
Speakers:
Mr. Yohanan Plesner, President, Israel Democracy Institute
Mr. Shmuel Abuav, Director-General, Ministry of Education
Professor Fadia Nasser-Abu Alhija, School of Education, Tel Aviv University
10:20–10:40 | GR-922 for the Reform of Informal Education in Arab Society
Rabbi Hagai Gross, Director, Society and Youth Administration, Ministry of Education: The Significance of Informal Education in Arab Society
Mr. Jalal Safadi, Director, Arab Society Division, Society and Youth Administration, Ministry of Education: Presentation of the Etgarim Plan for the Promotion of Informal Education in Arab Society
10:40–11:00 | Presentation of the Findings of the Study: “Informal Education in Arab Society in Israel: Vision and Action”
Nasreen Hadad Haj-Yahya and Arik Rudnitzky, Arab-Jewish Relations Program, Israel Democracy Institute
11:00–12:00 | First Session: Informal Education in Arab Society – From Vision to Action
Moderator: Arik Rudnitzky, Arab-Jewish Relations Program
Discussants:
Mr. Ayal Kantz, INJAZ Center for Professional Arab Local Governance
Mr. Sharaf Hassan, Chairman, Arab Higher Monitoring Committee
Ms. Basma Da’as, Director of the Youth Department, Tira municipality
Dr. Dalia Fadili, Director, Al-Qasemi College, Baqa al-Gharbiyye
Mr. Roi Assaf, Director, Social Development Department, Authority for the Economic Development of the Minority Sector
12:00–12:45 | Lunch Break
12:45–13:45 | Second Session: The Current Situation – Obstacles and Implementation Strategy
Moderator: Nasreen Hadad Haj-Yahya, Arab-Jewish Relations Program
Participants:
Mr. Abdullah Khatib, Director, Arab Education Division, Ministry of Education
Ms. Einav Schwartz, Society and Youth Director, Haifa District, Ministry of Education
Mr. Mazen Ghanem, Chairman, Forum of Arab Local Councils
Mr. Alaa Gantus, advisor to the National Committee on Reform 922
13:45–14:15 | Concluding Remarks
Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer, Vice President, Israel Democracy Institute
Ms. Ruth Knoller Levy, Director, Department of Content, Programs, Training and In-Service Training, Society and Youth Administration, Ministry of Education
This conference was made possible by the generous support of the Social Venture Fund.
Credit: Oded Antman