Shenkar is part of Israeli Hope (Tikvah Israelit) academic network – a core nationwide project initiated by the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, in July 2016. Its aim is to strengthen Israeli society and unite the communities that live within it. As defined by the President himself, Israeli society is considered to be made up of four main ‘tribes’: secular, religious, ultra-orthodox, and Arab communities. The project targets key social and economic fields, including education, academia and employment, amongst many others, to initiate greater awareness of and create positive encounters between these populations.
Shenkar’s involvement with the Israeli Hope project comes from the aspiration to promote a diverse and culturally competent academic world. As such, the project encourages the employees of Shenkar to go on a journey to get to know, in a first-hand manner, different sectors of Israeli society. This journey helps prepare both academic and administrative staff to better understand and relate to the individuals they are working with, as well as those they interact with on a daily basis outside of Shenkar.
The workshops offer experiential connections that reflect the values of Israeli Hope, with a series of ‘exposure days’- previous trips have visited Lod, Bnei Brak and Gedera to explore the Arab, Charedi and Ethiopian communities. During these trips, a program of activities and workshops are scheduled that take a deeper look at these communities with lectures from prominent figures, tours of the neighborhoods, experiencing the local economies, activities, rituals and ceremonies.
In addition to external trips, Shenkar provides a series of in-house activities that keep staff updated on current affairs. This includes a lecture series on various subjects including racism in Israeli society and the recognition of Holocaust in North Africa, amongst other difficult topics. Similarly, regular emails are sent to staff to raise awareness and inform of celebratory or commemoratory events in the calendar – one such example includes a commemorative Memorial Day for the Ethiopian Jewish community who perished on their way to Israel.
As part of the Israeli Hope ethos, various initiatives have also been established throughout Shenkar to make the campus more accessible to everyone. Firstly, the need for better, more inclusive signage was recognized as a topic that needed tackling. As a result, a campus wide project saw new information placards installed outside each room in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic and English. The second wave of changes saw updates to the general Shenkar calendar, which initially only highlighted Jewish holidays, and now includes Christian and Muslim holidays as well.
Overall, the programs stemming from Israeli Hope enable the new perspectives to form, shedding light on our own lives and identities, and triggering curiosity towards communities with differing or shared values, traditions and beliefs.