The training program took four full days and included two parts -

In the first part, we held the first training of the Active Citizens program, following an initial screening and recruitment process of a group of 16 participants, most of them are scholars of the Rave-Ravid Friends Foundation.

Among the subjects covered during training program:

• Cultural identity
• An examination of belief patterns and stereotypes
• Constructive dialogue, and asking questions
• Presentation of a sample project and other issues.

The meeting took place in the presence of Ms. Elana Budwig, the representative of the British Council. The participants had a unique opportunity to meet with Ms. Evelyn Collins, the Chief Executive of the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland, who came to introduce herself, her work, share her experiences and actions, and answer the students' questions.

By the end of the training session, the students expressed their utmost satisfaction with content of the subjects covered and said they were inspired by the meeting with Ms. Collins.

So far, about 37 young students were recruited, and these days they are in the midst of identifying and choosing projects.

Late October 2010 we held the second part of the Active Citizens training program, designed by the British Council in Israel.

The second part of the training program included 4 full days of training based on a methodology that has been developed and designed by the British Council. The program's structure and content were adjusted to suite the Israeli audience and to the framework of the social involvement projects that the students will carry out.

Throughout the training session, the participants were familiarized with new tools, information and knowledge that would help them with their projects in the future. The participants also met community leaders, professionals from Israel and overseas and have experienced peer learning and simulations.

In coordination with the Rector of the Haifa University, a team of experts was established in order to explore and examine further co-operations, such research and mentoring of the students in the course of the communities in which they are active.

All throughout the academic year, we will be meeting the students on a regular basis, as part of the training process and mentoring given to them in the course on the Friends of Raveh-Ravid Fund and the Active Citizens Program, with an aim to keep learning, qualifying and examining the progress of their projects in the field.

Please visit the gallery for images from the training sessions of the Active Citizen's Program.