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Signing the Joint Declaration of Intent in Addis Ababa

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ethiopia; MASHAV – the Center for International Development of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) have signed in a trilateral Declaration of Intent to carry out the political will expressed by the heads of their respective governments to commence cooperation on enhancing irrigated agriculture capacity in Ethiopia.

Agriculture is the major source of employment, revenue and export earnings of Ethiopia’s population and agricultural development is a priority for the Ethiopian government, setting irrigation as a major pillar to increase food production and to achieve food self-sufficiency for the country.

The Joint Declaration of Intent was signed in Addis Ababa by H.E. Ato Ahmed Nasir, State Minister, MoARD of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mr. Ulrich Mohr, GTZ Country Director, and Ambassador Haim Divon, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of MASHAV, in the presence of H.E. Yaacov Amitai, Ambassador of the State of Israel and H.E. Dr. Claas Dieter Knoop, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Ethiopia.

The Joint Declaration of Intent lays down joint as well as specific responsibilities towards the elaboration of a needs assessment and the development of a small-scale irrigation capacity building strategy for the efficient utilization of water resources by communities and individual farmer households in order to increase agricultural productivity and income and to reduce Ethiopia’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The three sides also agreed to conduct the study in two experience exchange missions to Israel and Ethiopia.

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Participants and staff of the Trauma Counseling for Children Course,Vietnam

The Embassy of Israel in Vietnam and MASHAV in collaboration with UNICEF and Hanoi’s University of Labor and Social Affairs (ULSA) organized in July 2008, an on-the-spot course in Hanoi, Vietnam, on “Trauma Counseling for Children” aimed at enhancing the capacity of national trainers who will be responsible for training community workers on counseling vulnerable children. Curriculum included introduction of basic knowledge about trauma counseling for children (definition, causes, implications, evaluation and classification to therapies); as well as principles and intervention techniques. Over 40 professionals from all over Vietnam took part in the course, which also counted with the participation of MASHAV experts, Israeli child psychologists Drs. Michal Finklestein and Michal Relles.

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MASHAV and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), responsible for all e-Gov projects designed a 12-day international seminar reviewing the structure, methodology, concepts and solution components: infrastructure, back office and front office setup as well as the bureaucratic model implemented in Israel.

The course took place in June 2008 at the Aharon Ofri Training Center, gathering 24 professionals from 11 countries. The main focus was on areas in which the Israeli e-Gov project excels, including e-Gov Vision and Strategy 2012; Central hosting & e-Gov services (On-line forms, payments and fenders/e-procurement); Security and system protection (Protecting the e-Gov on-line presence from hazards and providing safe surfing from within the government); and Central Back Office Systems (Centrally managed, cross-departmental resource management systems).

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“Share a Lunch Project” in action: Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Zvi Aviner-Vapni (center, last row), Deputy Chief of Mission Yaniv Revach (center, second row), Shalom Club president Zenny Ubaldo (standing, third from left), and fellow Shalom Club members during the event

Shalom Club Philippines (SCP) celebrates this year its 10th anniversary. SCP acquired its legal status in July 1998 under the Philippine laws that govern private corporations, and is a registered Volunteer Organization with the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency of the National Economic and Development Authority. The Club’s mission and primary objective is to promote peace through volunteerism. The theme chosen for this year’s anniversary celebration is Institutionalizing the Role of SCP in Philippine Society through the “Ambassadors of Peace” Program. 

Presently, Shalom Club Philippines has 639 members, active in 27 local chapters. One of the Club’s latest activities, organized jointly with the Israeli Embassy in the Philippines, was the “Share a Lunch and Gift” project, which included distribution of hot meals to destitute children.

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During the Signing Ceremony at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. From left to right: Uri Gutman, Consul General of Israel in Shanghai; Dr. John Howe, President & CEO of Project HOPE; Dr. Joseph Press, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel; and Dr. Liu Jinfen, President, SCMC

A Letter of Intent was recently signed by MASHAV, the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center (SCMC), the Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel (SCMCI) and Project HOPE.

Cooperation between the two medical centers started in 1998 through the support and coordination of MASHAV and Project HOPE. Cooperation within this framework contributed much to the development of SCMC, helping to medically treat children from the city of Shanghai and from many other parts of China.

Future cooperation between the parties will include exchange visits by medical experts of the two medical centers, and advanced medical and nursing training of Chinese experts in Israel.

The Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center (MCTC),  MASHAV’s  flagship training extension for the advancement of the status of women, was established  in 1961, 14 years before the United Nations declared its ‘Development Decade for the Promotion of Women’ and almost 40 years before the UN declaration of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As such it holds a unique place in the international training arena, at the forefront of training for the advancement of the status of women.

Since its inception MCTC has continued to grow and evolve, focusing on socio-economic development as the tool for poverty eradication, constantly stressing the importance of 'bottom-up development' and recognizing the contribution of women to their countries’ development.

MCTC works tirelessly towards the philosophy behind the MDGs -  putting gender issues on the international agenda, promoting poverty eradication through the empowerment of women, early childhood education, and community building by enhancing local capacity for human resource development, micro-enterprise growth and sustainable development.

MCTC’s 2007 Annual Report notes the wide variety of the Center's activities both at home and abroad.

Read MCTC’s Report

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In a meeting held last year in New York between Ambassador Haim Divon, Deputy Director General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of MASHAV, and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, it was decided that MASHAV would allocate resources towards working together with the Millennium Village Initiative (agriculture) and with the Millennium Cities Initiative (healthcare) in the spirit of the UN Millennium Declaration (2000), and in alignment with The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) has set as its objectives to assist through research and policy analysis mid-sized cities chosen across sub-Saharan Africa located near Millennium Villages. MASHAV is cooperating with the Millennium Cities Initiative in Kumasi, Ghana.

Within this framework MASHAV conducted in cooperation with KATH Hospital in Kumasi, a specially designed Workshop on Cardiac Emergencies, Trauma and Mass Casualty Incident Preparedness. The rationale of the workshop was to offer relevant tools to respond to an emergency situation wherein al the relevant teams are involved in the response, and included a simulation drill at the local stadium.

Read more about MASHAV-MCI Cooperation