RECIPROCAL RELATIONS

Reciprocal Relations - Coordination and Delegations
One of the overall goals of the Partnership 2000 project is to nurture the reciprocal relations between members of the Jewish communities in the Diaspora and residents of their partner regions in Israel, in order to strengthen and deepen their common Jewish identity and expand circles of informal contact between Jews in the Diaspora and in Israel. The project has operated in the Central Arava since the beginning of Partnership 2000 with great success: a large number of youth delegations have been hosted, and hundreds of visits have taken place by groups and individuals from the entire community.

Coordinator for Educational Reciprocal Relations and the Arava Experience Center
After building a very successful base in the student exchange delegations between the Shittim School in the Arava and Bialik College in Melbourne, the time has come to increase the scope of mutual educational activities. The project calls for employment of an educational coordinator on a part-time basis, who will also serve as the coordinator for the Arava Experience Center. The Experience Center will operate modular programs of diverse types for groups visiting the Arava, with the study of Hebrew as the center of the experience and activities.

Teacher Exchanges Between Schools
Teacher exchanges between the Shittim School in the Arava and Bialik College in Melbourne. The plan is for each community to send a teacher for a period of four weeks during the corresponding school holiday of the host school. This teacher would be currently actively involved in teaching in Melbourne or the Arava, and would continue to promote mutual Partnership issues upon return home to his or her community. The teacher will also be involved in the preparation of the reciprocal delegations, and will constitute a vital element in the planning of joint Arava-Australia educational projects.

Australian Corner
Establishment of an "Australian Corner" in the sculpture park next to Park Sapir, which will serve as a focus for groups and individuals coming to the region from Australia, and as a physical representation of the ties between the two communities. The Corner will be designed and implemented by local artists, who will also build a decorative wall on which all of the visitors from Australia will inscribe their names.

Translation of the Regional Newsletter
Articles this year will be taken in part from the regional newsletter, and in part from issues of particular interest to the Partnership, including articles written by participants in Partnership delegations and projects. In addition, the permanent information on the web pages will be upgraded and enhanced.

Video Conferences Between Schools
In today's age of advanced technology, one of the best ways to work on joint projects and to keep in constant touch, is through video conferencing. Video conferences allow deep and meaningful meetings between students participating in joint educational projects. The plan is hold a number of conferences during the year between the students of the Shittim School in the Arava and Bialik College in Melbourne, and for each conference a specific subject will be defined and taught prior to the conference. The intention is to additionally increase the activity to include other schools in Melbourne, and in Sydney as well. The video conferences will help to strengthen and deepen the existing ties, and to develop new ones.