BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY | THE WAY FORWARD

Evaluation of the programs has demonstrated their significant impact not only in fostering communities committed to dialogue and mutual understanding, but also in strengthening students’ sense of belonging, particularly among students from minority groups. For many participants, their involvement represents the first time they have experienced a safe and supportive space in which they could express their identities and share their personal narratives. In the past year, the programs have expanded to include a wide range of students: Arabs from the north and south, Druze and Christian students, and Jewish students from diverse backgrounds, including religious students and first-generation students, equipping them with tools for sustaining dialogue in the absence of agreement, learning how to remain in conversation, listen deeply, and engage with complexity, rather than merely debating or persuading. The ability to listen to the “other” during a period of active war and deep polarization made it possible to create a respectful space grounded in shared dialogue norms, rather than shared political positions. Bridge-building is also the focus of many of the office’s other programs, including the Hebrew as a Key to Success initiative, which is introduced below, along with one of the office’s flagship community-building programs. These programs, like all of the office’s other initiatives, have been The Hebrew as a Key to Success program aims to increase Hebrew language proficiency among Negev Bedouin high school students, removing a barrier to social integration and success in higher education – the inability to speak and write in Hebrew. The program also equips Hebrew speaking BGU students with the skills needed to teach Hebrew to Bedouin youth and increases cultural awareness. However, the program does much more. By bringing native Hebrew speakers from BGU face-to-face with Bedouin youth in an informal educational setting, it breaks down boundaries, paving the way for mutual understanding, tolerance, and shared lives, which are important in Israel’s polarized society. The program consists of an academic advanced with donor support. Hebrew as a Key to Success

course for BGU students, providing the tools (pedagogical and cultural) to teach Hebrew to Bedouin youth, and informal Hebrew classes for Bedouin 12th graders, improving their Hebrew skills. This year, thanks to philanthropic support, the program reached 15 classrooms across two localities, with the goal of expanding its impact. Ambassadors for Shared Society Program The Ambassadors for Shared Society program is a year-long initiative aimed at building shared society leadership. In the program, which emphasizes leadership development, social entrepreneurship, and dialogue skills, students receive training in partnership, entrepreneurship, leadership, appreciating different perspectives, and managing intergroup tensions. Participants address questions of campus belonging and common good, engaging in dialogue on sensitive and complex social issues, while gaining tools for attentive communication and opportunities to cultivate social connectedness. In the program’s practical component, students collaborate on initiatives that serve a social purpose, applying the tools and skills they’ve acquired to serve as ambassadors for shared society in their respective academic faculties and beyond. Each year, around 20 students participate in this program.

“For two years, I came to the university and only interacted with students from my own group. I felt a lack of belonging. The moment I joined the Ambassadors community, I felt that I belonged and that I was truly seen.” - shared by a Bedouin student

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