May saw the completion of the year-long training program for leadership of the Israeli Scouting movement. The goal of the training was for the movement to adopt a stronger stance on sustainability, integrated into all their activities, that goes beyond the usual, narrow “environmental” elements such as recycling. That is also why they turned to the Heschel Center.
The training was geared to the heads of regional units (call “tribes”) from around the country, who chose to partake of the program with the goal of direct application in mind.
While the stated goal of implementing deep sustainability is a challenging one, the course was deemed a great success by both participants and staff.
Inspired by their experience during the training, the movement formulated ten central sustainability principles to guide their preparation for the summer camps which they are working on. Each regional unit will create an action plan that reflects how they plan to implement the principles for their camps, and then in the activities of the upcoming year.
This coming year the course will be offered again, both for the regional heads, as well as the national leadership of the movement.
One of the participants summed it up by saying: “After every session of this training, I left feeling deeply responsible, driven to pass it on to others in the movement.”