Shorashim
Shorashim 2016400
Israel
- Youth and education
MOoNA serves as a physical and virtual space for the promotion of technological growth and social cohesion in Israel's northern periphery. Addressing a void in two major obstacles to growth in the Galilee – lack of technological education and a thriving Hi Tech industry, MOoNA considers the strengthening of education, entrepreneurship and innovation in space, science and technology as the most sustainable way to seed regional development among the region's Jewish and Arab residents. In order to achieve these goals, the MOoNA Science and Technology Lab is launched this November 2014 in the Arab village of Maj'd Al-Krum. It will offer various tech-oriented trainings, workshops and courses with the aim of developing the local residents' future skills, supporting entrepreneurship opportunities and creating new jobs and educational opportunities.
Through its joint activities MOoNA supports the development of shared citizenship that is promoted vastly in multi-sector ventures that engage the private sector/Hi-tech industry, local municipalities in the Galilee, civil society organizations and academia in Israel. These activities take place in MOoNA 's lab. MOoNA Lab was set up in 2014 in the Arab town of Majd Al-Krum. The lab serves as a “home” for regional technological, scientific and space-related programs, studies and innovative ventures. It also serves as a focal point for cross-sector collaborations between the Jewish and Arab communities of the Galilee.
MOoNA can contribute to the network in Israel by enhancing ethnic and cultural understanding, ameliorating social tensions through Israeli-Arab cooperation. In the course of the recent war between Israel and Hamas, tensions among Arab youth and Israeli police forces in Northern Arab Cities, Jerusalem and the West Bank as well as violent attacks of right wing Israeli youth towards Arab citizens have shown that there is a rising propensity for violence in Israeli and Palestinian society. After a terrorist rammed his car into a light rail train station end of October in Jerusalem and following restrictive measurements by the Israeli security forces, clashes erupted once again between Palestinians and the Israeli police. Following a week-end of heightened turmoil Palestinian President Abbas urged the US for intervention before the violence spirals out of control (Haaretz, 27th October 2014). Both the Israeli and Palestinian public have lost hope for real prospects of peace. As Arab and Jewish youth have very little occasions to get to know each other, it is of vital importance to facilitate shared spaces where they can meet, get acquainted with each other, work on joint projects and overcome social divide.
MOoNA is interested in being a part of a group of organizations that will act together for conflict resolution between different communities in Israel, and promote democratic values through Actual work on the ground. We hope to include more organizations in our programs. This will help us in providing concrete contribution to conflict transformation.