Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in Al-Kasum, Neve Midbar and Segev Shalom

The program aims to help fellows from three Arab-Bedouin communities clarify their worldview and develop practical ideas for realizing their vision and improving the quality of life in the Negev

The Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in Al-Kasum, Neve Midbar and Segev Shalom, which will open in the fall of 2021, is designed for fellows from three Arab-Bedouin communities in the Negev.

Program Goals

• To cultivate outstanding leaders, with an emphasis on developing individual abilities, formulating a worldview based on values, and re-examining the field of action, both as individuals and as a community.
  
• To advance initiatives designed to improve the quality of life in the Negev, by addressing its challenges in general and those that have emerged recently in particular.
  
• To create and expand shared spaces for the different communities of the Negev, while promoting partnership and practical solidarity.
  

The Course of Study

The course of study will examine content from the fields of philosophy, the humanities, the social sciences, education, urban studies, government, and public policy, and will include practical experiences and various forms of learning. Content will be carefully chosen to give participants the broad grounding needed to lead meaningful change in the region. Study days will include theoretical frontal lectures, discussions, joint study of texts, workshops to process content studied, individual projects and assignments, field trips, and two-day retreats and seminars.

The curriculum is based on four main axes of learning via which various subjects will be explored:

1. Identity and values – Clarifying values and worldviews, and formulating a clear vision, on both a personal and group level.
2. Space and place – The main characteristics and challenges related to the spaces and places in which the program fellows operate, including social- communal, economic, and cultural characteristics.
3. Government, policy, and local government – Understanding operational frameworks, the complexities of governance, and the ways in which leadership activity may be expanded by means of policy change at the local or national level.
4. Leadership and action – Models and types of leadership, as they emerge from theory and theoretical and practical encounters with prominent leaders, as well as in-depth study of the challenges and dilemmas of values-based leadership.

Admissions Requirements

General Information

The two-year program will begin in October 2021 at the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev in Beer Sheva. Studies will be held on Mondays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additional field trips and retreats will be held periodically in other parts of the country (full details will be provided to candidates who are accepted to the program). There are no fees for participation in the program, which is fully funded by the Mandel Foundation–Israel. Fellows in the program will also receive a monthly stipend for their participation in one day of study per week throughout the two-year period.

Fellows who complete the program will receive a graduation certificate from the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev, which will continue to provide guidance to graduates and to accompany their projects after completion of the program.

Program Director: Dr. Rotem Bresler-Gonen

For further information:

Email: Miyun-MCLN@mandel.org.il
Phone: Tal Shemesh, 08-620-1444