Projects with the Community
As the largest employer in Israel’s Negev region, ICL regards itself as a partner of the various communities in the Negev, including the Bedouin community. \
Activities in the Bedouin Community - Safety in Daily Life
ICL initiated a unique, high-quality and groundbreaking activity that promotes safety in daily life and the prevent accidents by children in the Negev’s Bedouin community in conjunction with a number of organizations including B’Terem, Agic and Matan. Several hundred children, youth, parents and professionals from the Bedouin community have participated in the project.
This project was borne out of concern for Bedouin children who are injured to a greater extent from accidents at home compared to other Israeli children, including Arab children. The risk of a Bedouin child dying as a result of an accident is 19 times higher than the risk of a Jewish child. In light of the serious data, ICL initiated a program and recruited Matan – Investing in the Community, Agic and B’Terem for Child Safety to administer a special project to improve the safety of Bedouin children living in the Negev.
The project includes three programs:
“Safety at Home” This program includes activities for Bedouin ICL employees and their families with the goal of raising awareness among them about child safety and providing tools to adopt safe patterns of behavior.
ICL employs about 1,000 Bedouin workers. The company offers courses for safety at work and on the road for all of its employees every several months, thereby raising the awareness of Bedouin employees about the importance of children’s safety, adopting safety values. The company also teaches tools for safe behavior among workers and their children, in order to create a sustainable change in behavior among company workers, as well as conveying these messages to the employees’ families and their communities. ICL’s goal is for employees to lead change in their respective communities.
Safety in the Community – In addition to the aforementioned activities, ICL holds information events among all Bedouin communities in the Negev to raise awareness of safety rules for children and the prevention of their injury from accidents. This activity is conducted together with the Forum of Imams of Ajeec. The forum is comprised of 42 Bedouin Imams, representing diverse religious movements. The activity also includes instructions on safety provided in parent group meetings.
Safety Cadets – This program is held with the youth movement of Ajeec – the Negev Institute, encouraging children to become safety ambassadors who convey the message to their parents, families and community. About 1,300 children are involved, from Hura, Kseifa, Rahat, Segev Shalom, as well as the unrecognized villages in the region.
Sulamot – Music for Social Change Amongst Children
The Sulamot program was initiated by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra in conjunction with Tel Aviv University with the goal of helping children through music and by playing with the orchestra. Sulamot is first and foremost a program offered to children whose parents cannot afford high-quality enrichment programs, and it aims to expose children to the benefits found in music and in playing music. The learning process at Sulamot is based on the experience of playing in a group as well as in cooperation. Instruction is by way of small groups, enabling personal attention for every child, who also participate by playing in the orchestra and giving other performances in the community.
ICL contributed to conducting this project in the Bedouin village of Hura for the benefit of the children.
Extracurricular Activities for the Bedouin Sector
Extracurricular activities are provided for Bedouin children led by students from their communities through the Perach tuition program at local primary schools. Every Friday about 480 Arabic-speaking students meet with 864 students from 12 Bedouin schools in the South, including in Rahat, Lakiya, Segev Shalom, Neve Midbar, Kseifa, Tel Sheva and Hura.
Children come to schools on Fridays when no regular studies are held. Every counselor works with two children, who are given two hours of assistance and educational enrichment and two hours of sports activities, together with the Education and Society organization. The activities focus on enrichment in subjects such as science and sustainability, and other topics that are vital to Bedouin society in the South, such as road safety.
Accelerator for Social Enterprises
ICL strives to advance startups that harness technologies to improve the society in which we live, or to solve an endemic problem in the community. It supports a social project involving graduates of the IDF’s 8200 Computer Unit, which provides assistance to technological enterprises throughout Israel that adopt a social-technological idea in its initial stages and provide information, tools and funding to transform the idea into an influential and successful social project.
ICL Employees as Volunteers – To be Involved
ICL believes that good corporate citizenship requires personal involvement, so, in addition to financial assistance, ICL encourages its employees and managers to take an active part in weekly voluntary work. Personal volunteering is usually conducted the afternoons (not during working hours) in educational, society and environmental organizations.
Vacation time Employment of ICL employees’ children during summer vacations in educational, social and environmental organizations.
ICL employees’ children are offered various paid jobs, mainly in social welfare positions in the Negev, providing them with an important opportunity to learn and to serve the community. These jobs are offered during summer vacations in educational, social and environmental organizations.
