Israeli Sustainability – the Next Decade
From Agents of Change to a Social Change Movement:
Connecting Individuals
Since the Heschel Center's inception 10 years ago, over one thousand participants have been trained as catalysts for the building of a sustainable society in Israel. The Heschel Center's prestigious Fellows Program, now in its 9th year, the Government Fellows, teacher training and principal leadership programs, the work over the last five years with community centers, courses with municipalities for local officials and for local advocates, professional courses and workshops in planning, architecture, agriculture and health, seminars for national and local journalists, and many many more, have produced graduates who today can be found leading the paradigm shift for a sustainable future in Israel. Among these graduates are elected officials in the Knesset and municipalities, journalists for the major television networks and newspapers, principals of innovative schools, local community organizers, leaders in social-environmental organizations, senior civil servants in national and local government, teachers of sustainability in universities and colleges throughout the country. Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, advocates from urban centers, development towns and rural settings, are all part of a burgeoning movement for sustainability. This vast array of activity now needs to be networked into a nationwide community of sustainability advocates, who gain strength and passion, inspiration and concrete ideas from being part of a movement working together for change. Using the organization's 10th anniversary as a catalyst, we plan to bring together over 500 members of our ever-growing network, to inspire them, and to create and strengthen working groups and task forces through supplying organizers and a state-of-the-art virtual social network, who will then move forward together with the stated aim of shifting Israel to a sustainable future.
Description:
On December 17, 2008, at its 10th anniversary conference, the Heschel Center will launch its sustainability network. The conference aims to bring together over 500 individuals, primarily graduates of Heschel Center programs, and to spend the day strategizing together over our collective workplan for the next 10 years. In addition to keynote speakers from overseas (Prof. David Orr from Oberlin College, and Dr. Vandana Shiva, a leader of the sustainability movement in India), and panel discussions on future challenges by leaders of the emerging sustainability network in Israel, the conference will primarily hold over 40 workshops on the spectrum of issues connected to sustainability in Israel – for example: community gardens, sustainable energy, public transportation, building local economies, greening the schools, the role of schools of architecture, bicycle use, advocating for public participation in decision making, etc. Each workshop will have a coordinator, and will produce a powerpoint presentation defining the long-term goal, goals for the coming year, obstacles to implementation, workplan, and criteria for success. In preparation for the conference coordinators of each workshop will be trained in moderating social webs, and the night after the conference will place the workshop materials in a designated area of a new sustainability network website, which will be officially launched after the conference, and serve as a hub for the national sustainability network. Workshop coordinators will continue to moderate their workshops, after the conference, virtually over the web. At the conference, in addition to the keynote lectures, panel discussions and workshops, seminars will be held on strategic thinking and social networking. Our goal is to mobilize the participants in the conference into ownership of the sustainability network, and to be partners in strategically thinking about how to shift Israel onto a sustainable future.
The Sustainability Network seeks to use web technology to establish a nationwide network of sustainability advocates, creating a powerful link between virtual and on-the-ground activity. Currently, there is no comprehensive forum for individuals to link individuals together - to learn about the wealth of activity already taking place, share best practices, recruit partners, and self-organize. This project’s aim is to create a multi-cultural web presence that will allow like-minded citizens to find each other, schedule meetings, share information (discussion boards, newsletters, blogs, reading lists), share media materials (video, audio, photos, flyers, whitepapers, etc.), enlist support for public campaigns and generate active participation both online and on the ground.
Learning from successful models such as Meetup.com and Treehugger.com, and coupled with the already extensive infrastructure that Heschel has built in communities throughout Israel (160 schools in its Green School Network; 60 municipalities in its Local Sustainability Project; 30 Green Community Centers; 150 graduates of year-long sustainable leadership programs, and more), the project is intended to facilitate the shift from individual agents of change to a powerful and synchronized sustainability movement. This type of public online resource has never been available in Israel before despite the fact that the country as a whole is extremely tech-savvy. We believe that Israeli society is particularly suited for such an initiative, given its high degree of internet literacy.
Organizational Structure/Expertise:
A software programmer and a community coordinator will spearhead the project. The Heschel Center has been recognized for expertise in the field, gaining a national reputation through academic distinction of its staff, its managerial excellence, and its innovative strategic thinking. As a new funder recently communicated, after being exposed to the Heschel Center's work – "I wanted to congratulate you on your support of one of the most impressive and sophisticated environmental programs I've ever seen. Heschel staff are master strategists and if there's any hope for some form of livable Israel, the Heschel Center will have played a crucial role in making it possible."
Outcome:
With this campaign we plan to see a substantive increase in the network of individuals identified and involved in sustainability activities. Equally important, we anticipate the virtual network to bolster new and ongoing initiatives.