Forum for Exchange - The International Institute Moves into the 21st Century

The speaker is Ofer Bronchtein, the new director-general of the International Institute - Histadrut (Israel's General Federation of Labor), one of the largest training centers affiliated with MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We have the ability and the resources to make a small, albeit significant contribution to increasing cooperation, especially in our own region. To that end we now have participants coming from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Mauritania and the Palestinian Authority, all in addition to our regular participants from 100 countries. We are creating a forum for the exchange of information, one which can help advance the peace process - for the benefit of all."

With cooperation as the main focus, the Institute today is a large federation, consisting of the International Institute, the Levinson Center for Adult Education, the Jewish-Arab Institute for Regional Cooperation with Palestinian and Arab Countries and the Arab Publishing House. All of these entities, situated on the Beit Berl campus in Kfar Saba (25 kilometers from Tel Aviv), are now integrated into one framework.

The Institute itself is an amalgamation of three entities - the International Institute for Labor, Development and Cooperation - Afro-Asian Institute, established in 1958; the Center for Cooperative and Labor Studies for Latin America, Spain and Portugal, established in 1968 and the Institute for Eastern and Central Europe, established in 1990. Look closely at the names of those entities: they reflect the way the Institute, which originally catered to participants from Africa and Asia, has been constantly expanding its operations to reach out to those who come from all corners of the earth.

Although the Institute has an impressive track record of success and achievements in providing leadership training on trade unionism and cooperative development for Third World countries, it is moving from what initially was a trade-union orientation to one that places more emphasis on the civil society, on people-based organizations. Proposed courses for 1999 reflect this new emphasis, including the following: Management of People-Based Organizations and Education for Democracy; Human Resource Development for Micro-Enterprises and Micro-Finance Organization and Non-Governmental Organizations in a Democratic Society.

Always aware of the need to provide training for women, today the Institute is placing even more stress on programs which emphasize the empowerment of women, such as the course entitled the Role of Women in Neighborhood Rehabilitation in the Urban Informal Sector, again planned for 1999. In addition in all other courses the goal is to see that 40% of all the participants are women.

In like manner, training for rural development continues to be a major priority, but now the courses in this area range from the Contribution of Communication, Mass-Communication and Media Organization for Rural Development to Economic and Financial Planning Through Computer Usage for Rural Development. "We are," says Bronchtein, "taking many of the Institute's traditional courses in rural development and redesigning and upgrading them."

Today's world demands computer literacy. To this end, the Institute has now introduced a computer component into every course. Those who come with prior knowledge receive advanced training, while those with little or no background receive valuable introductory training. "We are attaching more and more importance to the new technology," stresses Bronchtein. "We regard these new technologies as valuable tools which facilitate the exchange of know-how and knowledge. So important do we feel is this area that we have designated one staff member to deal exclusively with it. In addition, we plan to put some of our 1999 courses on the Internet, making them available to people throughout the world.

Not only is the Institute widening the scope of its curricula, but it is also reaching out to more countries, and expanding its pool of candidates. Since the break-up of the former Soviet Union, for example, the Institute has been assisting those from that area to make the transition from a centralized, state-controlled economy to a privatized, free market. In 1999, for example, courses offered in Russian will include Trade Unions and Social Security in a Market Economy and Pension Funds in a Market Economy.

"Yes," says Bronchtein, "if once courses were run only in English, French or Spanish, today our languages of instruction include Russian and Arabic. We will also occasionally run courses in Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, Rumanian and other languages according to demand."

As Bronchtein reviews the changes now taking place at the Institute - from its structural reorganization to its curricula expansion, it is obvious that he is excited by the increased activity in the Arabic language now occurring. This signifies the new thrust towards regional cooperation in which he firmly believes.

The civil society component, i.e., the emphasis on people, mass-based organizations and movements, and not just on government and official bodies and their representatives, has long been central to the Institute's thinking and planning. "And nowhere is this more important," affirms Bronchtein, "than in this region, striving and struggling for peaceful coexistence. Peace," he states, "is never made by politicians. Peace can and should be made by the people of the region. By creating a network of relationships with our Arab neighbors, we create a forum for the exchange of information, the seeds for meaningful peace. The more time each side spends with the other, the more we create the dynamics that can help push the peace process along. Our Arab neighbors," adds Bronchtein, "are already a presence at the Institute. In 1999 we will continue to accommodate them, hopefully in even larger numbers. We also hope to be able to accede to requests by the Palestinian Authority to go to their cities and run on-the-spot courses there."

As in the past its field-work activities include exposing participants to the different faces of Israel. "We are striving," notes Bronchtein, "to give as broad a picture of Israel as possible - to visit Arab and Druze towns, as well as Jewish ones and also new cities such as Mod'iin and Shoham, as well as older development towns. Our participants come not only for training but also - in an understated way - to absorb the Israeli experience. This we try to achieve by taking them to both Israeli and Arab movies, to performances by folk-dancing and choral groups, as well as, of course, the religious sites (Jewish, Christian and Moslem) which - for many - becomes one of the highlights of their stay in Israel."

Some of the changes now taking place at the Institute had begun before Ofer Bronchtein took up his post. Already in the year preceding his arrival, when now retired veteran director Yehuda Paz was overseeing the Institute (see article in this issue,......), there had been a sharp increase in the scope and activity of the Middle East Department at the Institute, i.e., in courses directed to Palestinians and participants from other Arabic-speaking countries. Similarly, the study program had already begun to branch out to include such topics as the civil society, gender issues, empowerment, micro-enterprises, etc.

Today the Institute is intensifying and deepening these trends and, simultaneously, streamlining and upgrading its organizational capacity. Building on the International Institute's past record of success, the Institute is now looking to the future, to a global world whose needs are changing rapidly and where the free exchange of ideas, technologies and knowledge is an imperative that cannot be ignored, a challenge that must be faced.