Dear Friend of Athena,

This week Israeli students from additional grades have returned to partial studies at school. Still, according to official statistics, about 1.2 million  students in grades 7-10 continue to study remotely.

Even today, as we can see the end of COVID-19 on the horizon and are hopeful for its eventual disappearance, our “digital toolbox” continues to be essential for school and kindergarten teachers in Israel.

We at Athena Fund see our main focus as closing the digital gap in the Israeli education system. Together with our strategic partners – the Teachers Union, Bank Massad, the Ministry of Education, and key donors – we continue to fulfill our vision of providing a laptop computer and 120 hours of professional training to every school and kindergarten teacher in Israel.

I am pleased to share with you some of our recent events here at Athena Fund.
Wishing you and your family much health and a Happy Purim,

Uri Ben-Ari
Founder & President
Athena Fund

"Digital Toolbox" for Teachers in Nahariya

To date, Athena Fund has distributed laptops and iPads together with professional training to 27,135 school and kindergarten teachers (via our various projects) in 2,389 schools and kindergartens in 172 municipalities across Israel.

The first distribution of 2021 was on February 15, when teachers in Nahariya received our digital toolbox. In all, 685 school and kindergarten teachers in the city have joined our "Digital Toolbox for Every Teacher" program.

Among the guests who attended the special program launch ceremony (held via Zoom) were Ronen Mareli, the Mayor of Nahariya, Shlomo Ishay, CEO of the Professional Advancement Unit of the Teachers Union, Inbar Aloni, VP of Marketing & Sales at Bank Massad, and Irit Ben Menahem, Director of the Computing Structures Division at Mifal Hapais.
Shoshi Chen, a science teacher from the Golda School in Nahariya, addressed the participants on behalf of the teachers. We invite you to watch the Video

In the next few months more school and kindergarten teachers will be joining our various programs. We are currently working on raising funds for additional municipalities and teachers waiting to benefit from our digital toolbox.

Pre-Election Conference: Closing the Digital Gap

On February 14, ahead of the upcoming elections in March, Athena Fund and "People and Computers" together hosted a virtual conference on the subject of “the Next Government's Challenges to Close the Digital Gap in Education and Israeli Society.”

We invited representatives from all contending parties to showcase their party's platforms regarding education and closing digital gaps in Israel. We were glad to receive a positive response from most of the parties. Dr. Ifat Shasha Biton, MK Yair Lapid, MK Keti Shitrit, Prof. Yaron Zlicha, MK Uri Makleb, MK Oded Forer, Izhar Shay, Minister Michael Biton, and Secretary-General of the Teachers Union Yaffa Ben-David made this conference very timely and interesting.

Uri Ben-Ari spoke about Athena Fund's activities and explained to the participants that about 50% of teachers do not have access to a computer to work from home. As a result, about 1 million students cannot study effectively with their teachers remotely.

Streamed live via Zoom and Facebook, the conference was recorded. We invite you to  Watch the Conference Recording (Hebrew Only)

Uri Ben-Ari to Speak at an Interational Conference

On March 5-7, Tomorrow People will host the 16th International Education and Development Conference (EDC 2021) via Zoom and Facebook. 

Uri Ben-Ari, Athena Fund's Founder & President, was invited to participate as a guest speaker. He will share insights about the work and experience of Athena Fund, and the great change we're leading among Israel's teachers. In addition, he will participate in an international panel discussion.

We invite you to follow our posts on social media and join the conference to hear Uri and other speakers.