Unveiling the sign for the Center for Excellence and Heritage in Sderot. Photo: KKL-JNF
On Thursday, December 23, 2021, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund laid the foundation stone for a new education and heritage center in Sderot. The ceremony was attended by KKL-JNF World Chairman Avraham Duvdevani, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi and KKL-JNF Director of Education Sar-Shalom Jerbi. This educational center will join two similar institutions that have already been completed in Nof HaGalil and Kfar Malachi, and six others in various stages of planning in different parts of the country.
These heritage centers, a socio-educational flagship project on the part of KKL-JNF, are designed to reduce gaps between central Israel and its periphery and provide equal opportunity for all Israeli high-school students to improve their future prospects. As multidisciplinary institutions, they function within the framework of both formal and informal education.
Operating within an inspiring educational environment with entrepreneurial spirit, the centers provide a study base for the lively and digitally-engaged Generation Zers. Participants have a say in the educational content on offer, which is designed to equip them with both Zionist values and 21st-century life skills and expertise relevant to the needs of today. The multidisciplinary activities provided include numerous courses on empowerment, leadership, sustainability, environment, and the historical geography of Israel.
These KKL-JNF heritage centers likewise encourage young people and their communities to identify with Zionist values, perform a meaningful term of service in the Israel Defense Forces or a civilian equivalent, and embark upon academic studies. In addition, the centers provide a venue for lectures, enrichment activities and the opportunity to engage in youth movement activities in Sderot at a level unprecedented in Israel.