Partnership on the local level with the Arab community is essential in promoting social change and a breakthrough in Arab employment. In order to link students and graduates from Arab society with employment possibilities, we have created graduate databases, Arab student forums in each academic institution and a National Academic NGO Forum. We also provide tools and guidance to generate the organizational changes needed to reach and hire candidates from Arab society and to create a more shared workplace, in which all employees can thrive. In order to become diverse employers we guide academic institutions as we do our business companies together we set placement goals for hiring employees from Arab society. To achieve these goals we collaborate with many partners, including the NGOs Tsofen and Kav-Mashve, President Rivlin’s “Israeli Hope” initiative in academia, The “Next Step” program for internships, and with specific student clubs and entities in each institution. Second, we assist academic institutions in providing their students and graduates from Arab society with employment opportunities and tools, and in promoting them as potential candidates for placement in Co-Impact’s core companies. The role of academia in leading socio-occupational change is highly significant.Ĭo-Impact guides academic institutions in leading two significant processes: First, becoming diverse employers, promoting Arab employment in their own institutions. The strategic thinking of NGOs, division of responsibility and sharing of knowledge, has led to joint fundraising and the ongoing development of numerous tools and services, and their application in the field. In 2018, the NGO Forum mapped the tools and services most lacking in the field, and formed a strategic plan for the division of responsibilities and implementation of effective joint workplan to develop these tools. The NGO Forum is led by the NGO Forum’s leadership team, composed of 12 leading NGOs in the field: Abraham Initiatives, aChord Center, Ajeec, Alfanar, Appleseeds Academy, Be’Atzmi, Hasoub, itWorks, Kav Mashve, Living Together, Sikkuy, and Tsofen.
NGO Leadership Forum: Shared Tool Development Program The NGO Forum represents Arab society in cross-sectoral discussions (business, public, NGOs, philanthropy) and carries out community activities in the field of employment. These NGOs share Co-Impact’s vision and complement our actions in training potential Arab candidates, promoting shared society, encouraging higher education for the Arab community and acting towards diversity at large. Ofra Strauss – Business Council PresidentĪs part of our “collective impact model”, where all stakeholders work together towards a common goal, 40 NGOs in the field of Arab employment have partnered with Co-Impact to work together and find solutions towards promoting Arab employment. The Business Council members identify with Co-Impact’s vision of equitable and appropriate employment for Arab society in the Israeli business sector and together we strive to achieve this. The Council accompanies Co-Impact in strategic thinking and is the public face of Co-Impact – sharing the employers’ perspective regarding needs, challenges and opportunities, reaching Arab candidates and providing a public backing, specifically in times of crisis in Arab-Jewish relations in Israel. In 2019 Co-Impact established a smaller, committed, and strategic Business Council, comprised of 100 of Israel’s most influential business leaders. The members of the forum are invited twice a year to the President’s Residence for a meeting in which they bring the employers‘ perspective to the table. In 2014, Co-Impact was chosen as the flagship program of “Israeli Hope in Employment” – and as part of this partnership, the Business Forum and President Rivlin established close ties. With the establishment of Co-Impact we initiated the formation of a large Jewish-Arab Business Forum, made up of 400 Arab and Jewish business leaders.