© UNESCO
Signing Ceremony © Modi'in
A ceremony, held on 9 June 2015 in Modi’in, Israel, symbolised a milestone in building learning cities in Israel. Three learning cities, Modi'in, the Arab town of Daburiya in Galilee, and the city of Udine in Italy, representing three different religions and cultures, have signed a treaty for cooperation in which they recognise lifelong learning as a driving force for growth, stability and success of their inhabitants and commit themselves to promote the learning city concept in their communities.
Dr Orna Mager, developer of the Israeli learning city model and head of the Israeli Center for Learning Cities, highlighted the importance of the occasion: “We see this ceremony as a significant milestone in developing partnership and mutual learning amongst learning cities that represent different cultures and religions, as well as regional differences, through multi-cultural dialogue and friendly relationships.” A three-day meeting to examine possible directions of and ideas for further development resulted in drawing up a number of key topics defining the way forward:
- Reception and integration of immigrants/newcomers
- Active involvement of citizens through volunteerism and community work
- Implementing the principles of gender equality
- Promoting employment for ages 50+
- Development of learning communities among different segments of the population, including senior citizens, the disabled, unemployed
- Best practice exchange
Mayors and representatives from Modi’in, Daburiya and Udine as well as representatives from the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, the Ministry of Education, the Israel Adult Education Association and various other organisations came together with the purpose of promoting and assimilating lifelong learning in learning cities through multi-cultural dialogue, mutual learning, joint projects and friendships.
For further information please contact Ms Mager at .
See a video message from the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning for this event here
