Northern Israel’s young adult centers held a convention in Rosh Pina on June 20, 2019. It provided young adults with resources and information on building their lives in the north, as well as networking opportunities - all under one roof. KKL-JNF, which aims to revitalize Israel’s outlying regions as part of its 2040 plan, was one of the conference’s sponsors.
Participants from all over northern Israel attended the Young Adult Centers Convention held in Rosh Pina. “Young people are the generation of the future and the growth engine in all areas of life,” declared Shani Somech-Atiya, who is director of the Kiryat Shmona young adults center. “Our main objective is to keep young people in the north or bring them back and help them to settle here.”
The convention, aimed at people in their twenties and thirties, brought together the resources available to young adults in the north as they plan the next stage of their lives. The event ran workshops in career development, decision-making, financial planning, looking for work, and post-army rights and benefits. There was also a higher-education fair offering young adults information on the range of possibilities for self-advancement.
“The young adult centers’ function is to serve as an address for young people and meet all their needs,” explained Dana Moran-Ravid, who directs a young adults center in the Upper Galilee.
Rosh Pina Young Adults Center Director Yigal Shargil hosted the convention in Baron’s Park (close to the local youth center), where much of Old Rosh Pina has undergone renewal. “Our goal today is to introduce as many young adults as possible to the range of services we offer, which can serve as a springboard for the next stage of their lives,” he said. “It also gives young people from different parts of the north an opportunity to get to know one another and form social networks. I have no doubt that today’s convention is a harbinger of things to come, and that it will be followed by many other joint events.”
Tal Tsarfati, who runs the resource center for young adults in the Golan Heights, explained that these centers hold a variety of workshops, lectures and other events for young people aged 18 to 40. “We help to provide tools for career development, increased social involvement and the acquisition of higher education, and offer guidance for demobilized soldiers, etc.,” he said. “By working together with the wonderful center directors in northern Israel, we have succeeded in initiating and organizing this initial event, which is the first of its kind and will pave the way for many more activities for the benefit of young people throughout the region.”
There are seven young adult resource centers in the north, located in Kiryat Shmona, Tzfat, Hatzor HaGlilit, Rosh Pina, the Golan Heights, Upper Galilee and Merom HaGalil. This was their first joint convention. It is being sponsored by the area’s regional councils, the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee, the Gross Foundation, the Guidance Unit for Discharged Soldiers, and KKL-JNF.
“This cooperative effort proves that we have the ability to respond to the needs of young people in the area, and that they don’t have to travel long distances to search for solutions,” said Upper Galilee center director Dana Moran-Ravid. “We are working together for the benefit of the entire region.”
Among those taking part in the convention were Yarden and Nerya Dimri of Tzfat, who brought their ten-month-old daughter Naveh. “Today we acquired some useful tools,” said Nerya. “In one workshop I learned how to present my CV, and in the decision-making workshop I heard about the vital factors to take into consideration when making important decisions in life.”
“Building a life in northern Israel really is a challenge,” added Yarden. “Today is a very important day, because it shows those of us who want to live here that there are a lot of possibilities nonetheless.”
The evening concluded with an uplifting performance by Elisha Banai and the Forty Thieves. After all, going out and having fun is also an important part of life.