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28th March 2011 – British Foreign and Commonwealth Office host reception for British Friends of Merchavim and "Kulanana" - UK Study Tour
BFM was officially launched during a reception hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on 28th March 2011.
The event was held to introduce the British public to Merchavim's new major education outreach program, "Kulanana" which targets Israelis up to age 30 and opinion-leaders in Israel and abroad, integrating grass-roots community projects with a Public Education Campaign. The initiative's 15 diverse NGO Partners were presented during the event, and several Kulanana NGO Coordinators took the stand to speak to the audience about the initiative. For more information on Kulanana, please visit the website: www.kulanana.org.il
The reception featured as part of a Foreign and Commonwealth Office-sponsored three day Study Tour held for the 15 NGO Kulanana Partner Coordinators with the aim of strengthening and unifying the uniquely diverse Israeli NGO Kulanana coalition. Members of this coalition have come together to work on the initiative from across the cultural, religious and social spectrum in Israel. The tour, which was planned in cooperation with Common Purpose - a UK leadership development NGO, also gave the participants an important opportunity to meet with their NGO counterparts in the UK and together learn about the shared challenges of democratic society-building that each is facing in their respective societies. To view the tour program: click here.
The Tour received positive feedback: participants gave the tour's content, structure and organization an average of 4 out of a total of 5 points. They found the topics covered to be "interesting, educational, relevant, important, thought-provoking and exciting".
The NGO Coordinators agreed that the tour strengthened their cooperation in bringing about change, their understanding regarding the added value of Kulanana, and created a better level of understanding of the activities of British organizations working in similar fields to them.