Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

Last week, Reut’s ‘Communities’ team attended the Communal Resilience conference at Seminar E’fal. The event was organized by the Social Services Department in Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, as well as by the Community Stress Prevention Center.
The conference assembled large numbers of local government representatives from all parts of Israel, delegates from different NGO’s and government offices including the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, the Ministry of Health, the National Emergency Authority, Home Front Command and the Emergency Arrangement Group.
One of the panels was dedicated to the multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary aspects of resilience, and was chaired by Baruch Sugerman of the Ministry of Social Affairs.
One project presented at the panel was ‘Ma’avarim in the Valey‘ which aims at reducing unemployment at the local level through connecting neighboring regional councils (such as Megiddo, Jezreel and Zevulun,). The project’s goal is to identify and empower forces in the community and connect them to relevant economic factors that operate in the wider region.
The discussion once again revealed that promoting connections and cooperation between different populations and sectors in the region not only improves their communal resilience, but also contributes to regional development and the economic resilience of all of its residents.