The Global School Twinning Network | The Jewish AgencyThe Global School Twinning Network

The Global School Twinning Network

Meaningful connections between Jewish students and educators in Israel and around the world

Imagine that Jewish children from around the world can discover what it is like to grow up as a Jewish kid in another country. This idea has become a reality for thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students who get together in virtual Mifgash (meetings) in all five continents.

The Global School Twinning Network is a program of the Jewish Agency Partnership2gether unit, together with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. The program connects Jewish schools across the globe, including both day schools and supplementary schools, with schools in Israel to create meaningful and long-lasting connections that enable teachers and students alike to explore and expand their circles of Jewish identity, to build community contacts and ties, and to deepen their understanding and connections to one another.

 

Our Mission

Learning and familiarity create the basis for our understanding and structure our perceptions and attitudes to those around us. The joint activity of the School Twinning Network turns Jewish school communities around the world and in Israel into tangible and vibrant places for one another, expanding knowledge and instilling positive, empathic attitudes. Dialogues about Jewish identity and the connection with Israel become possible, creating meaningful long-term sustainable relationships between the twinned communities in Israel and abroad.

 

How School Twinning Works

The staff of the School Twinning Network accompanies the developing relationship between schools. We start by forging the initial contact, find the most suitable “match” according to the vision and objectives of the twinned schools, and continue to provide close guidance of the educational staff through our pedagogic coordinators throughout the year. The coordinator guides the staff in the inter-cultural connection, in building an educational program that is based on a reserve of activity resources and contents that are continually updated and revised and incorporated into the school program, and also in becoming familiar with technological pedagogical tools that promote joint learning.

Your school’s uniqueness and your students’ stories are at the heart of the School Twinning Network. Every activity is planned and tailored to your twinning. The students learn, investigate and share their experiences and points of view through live interactions, video clips, photos, texts, audio clips and using a variety of platforms.

 

Our Activities

Our programs develop social and emotional learning, promote greater understanding of similarities and differences, and help our students practice interpersonal skills such as respectful listening and communication, inter-cultural dialogue, worldviews, cooperation, use of languages, application of digital pedagogical tools and 21st century skills, and critical thinking.

Read about our professional standards to learn more.

For more details please write to: schooltwinning@jafi.org

The current period and the different ways in which schools are functioning now are having an impact on our communities around the world. We understand that teachers, students and families need help to stay connected and cope with social isolation. We are happy to continue to support our educational staff and students with their educational and social needs in the current reality.

school twinning parters