BGU | PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

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PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2026

and focusing on entrepreneurship, teamwork, and personal project development. Together, these youth-focused initiatives highlight the University’s central role in developing educational frameworks, promoting cross-cultural collaboration, and strengthening social cohesion and opportunity in the Negev. The Community Leadership Training Program engages soldiers relocating to the Negev as part of the IDF’s move to the south. Through workshops and team activities, participants develop leadership skills and connect with the social landscape of the region, while building ties with the University and local partners to support active community involvement. BGU’s students and researchers are the heart of Prisma Negev’s work. They are involved in innovation labs, applied research, and regional partnerships. This integration creates a reinforcing cycle: as the regional ecosystem grows stronger, it attracts talent committed to contributing to its future, while locally developed leadership deepens the foundation for long term resilience. Prisma Negev, thus, not only advances projects, but cultivates the intellectual, civic, and entrepreneurial capacity that will sustain them in the long-term. LOOKING AHEAD: A FRAMEWORK FOR LASTING IMPACT The Negev has often been described as peripheral, yet its importance to Israel’s future – economically, socially, and strategically – is profound. Strengthening the Negev strengthens the country as a whole. Prisma Negev reflects a shift from aspiration to infrastructure: from isolated initiatives to a coordinated, long-term strategy for regional development. It signals confidence in the Negev’s potential and a commitment to its future. Ben-Gurion University is translating vision into action, through partnerships, platforms, and measurable progress. The foundation has been laid. Much work lies ahead: we must deepen, expand, and sustain this momentum, advancing a shared vision of resilience, innovation, and opportunity for the Negev and for Israel as a whole.

industry and academia, and exposure to regional innovation centers. The University plays a key role by providing academic guidance, connecting participants to its resources and role models, and strengthening the pipeline of future students engaged in regional innovation. The Wadi Attir: Bedouin Youth Empowerment Initiative aims to expand opportunities for Bedouin youth in the Negev by fostering leadership, personal development, and innovation-oriented learning, while creating meaningful and sustained shared-society engagement between Jewish and Arab students. Addressing significant gaps in access to structured empowerment programs and authentic cross-community collaboration, the program positions Wadi Attir – already a thriving eco farm and Bedouin social and cultural education center – as a regional hub for community-based development and partnership. The first stage will launch in Hura, bringing together Jewish and Arab university students as mentors for Bedouin teens,