The
Mount Carmel Center (MCTC) was
established in 1961 (when Golda Meir was Minister of Foreign Affairs) in Haifa,
the city where Mina Ben Zvi, the Founding Director resided. Mina Ben Zvi was one of Israel’s
dynamic leaders in the years leading up to independence – as an officer in the
British ATS during the 2nd World War serving in Cairo, and later as
first head of the Women’s Corps in the Israel Defense Forces (1948), organizer
of the Dept. of Home Economics in the Ministry of Agriculture (1950), Council
member of Haifa Municipality, Israel delegate to the UN Commission on the
Status of Women, Labor Party delegate to the International Council of Social
Democratic Women and founding member of SI Israel in 1957.
The
Mount Carmel Center (renamed the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training
Center in 1985) was established by MASHAV, the Center for International
Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to put gender issues on the
international agenda or in other words to give women from developing countries
and societies in transition equal opportunity to train abroad, develop their
leadership skills and thereby contribute actively to the development of
their countries. Recognition for the impetus to this project is
given to Prime Minister Golda Meir, Mina Ben-Zvi and not less to Swedish
Ambassador to Israel Inga Thorsson, who was instrumental through Swedish
women’s organization and the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA)
to provide scholarships for African women to study at MCTC. For the first ten years of its
existence, MCTC accepted only women.
Since 1970, men and women are accepted for the constructive influence
this has on the men participants.
However, every effort is made that women make up at least half of the
course contingent, in keeping with the original goal of the Center.
MCTC, a
residential training center, is situated in a quiet suburban street in the
Central Carmel area of Haifa. At any
time of the year, 55 – 60 trainees from between 30 to 40 different countries
may be studying in courses conducted in different languages (English and
Spanish, or English and French and lately, Arabic and Russian is heard too.) Participants live and work at the
Center, supported by the professional, office and house staff. In addition to the topic they have come
to study, they learn about the backgrounds, cultures and traditions of the many
different nations they represent, learning, also, that many of their problems
are shared by all, and giving them a new perspective on their own countries.
Since
1961, more than 10,000 participants from 147 different countries have taken
part in training activities at MCTC.
Over the years, the period of study has become shorter, as
more study opportunities are found in the participant’s own country.
However the areas of concern remain as valid as ever. With adaptation to reflect changing needs, trends and
priorities on the international development agenda, the three main subject of
study remain: Community
Organization for Social Change, Micro-enterprise Development and Early Childhood Education.
The MCTC
training staff consults with specialists from universities, public services and
the private sector to develop the training programs. It applies an active learning methodology which relies
extensively on case material presented by participants from their own work
experience, simulation exercises, and observation visits throughout Israel to
economic, educational and social services in urban and rural areas to
illustrate concepts and principles discussed in the classroom. Many courses require trainees to
prepare and present project proposals to be carried out in their home
communities on their return.
MCTC’s specialized library is open 24 hours a day and houses more than
13,000 volumes of reference material in the languages and on the topics
studied.
As
important as the professional learning is the lasting impression left by the
visits to the Christian and Moslem holy sites in the country that the Center
organizes for the participants.
Home hospitality, often by Soroptimist members of Haifa’s three clubs,
is also part of study in Israel, as are the occasional Folklore evenings to
which friends of the Center are invited.
The
impact of the training at MCTC is expanded further by the request of
participants’ institutions to send lecturers to their countries for two-week
workshops on a selected topic they deem important. These On-the-Spot courses, as they are called, reinforces
cooperative ties between institutions and MCTC, provides an opportunity to
interview former students, and gather information about new training
needs. Two teams recently returned
from Cameroon and Grenada, among them Fannette Modek, member of the Haifa-Neve
Shaanan Soroptimist Club
Another
important source of information about the changing trends in development and
especially in the needs and interests of women, are MCTC’s biennial Seminars
for Women Leaders which bring together heads of NGOs from developing and
developed countries with representatives of UN agencies for discussion and
setting of objectives for the future. Ms Angela King, Assistant
Director-General of the UN was the guest speaker at the International Symposium
“The Impact of Women’s Training on Socio-Economic Development” held in Haifa in
June 2001.
Mina Ben Zvi, founding member of
the Haifa Soroptimist Club (1957)
readily saw the similarity of purpose and objectives between MCTC and Soroptimist International. She also understood
that women, organized in associations, can make their voices heard. Back in the 1960’s, the European
Federation of Soroptimists and MCTC held a joint seminar which was seen as the
forerunner of SI extension work in Africa. Since then, many European Soroptimists have attended the
biennial Women Leaders Seminars/Symposia organized in Haifa. SI Israel has been a co-sponsor of such
a seminar in the past and is
invited to collaborate on the next Seminar planned for November 2003 in which
we look forward to having a number of participants from SI Europe and sister
federations.