German-Israeli Educational Cooperation: Mikhail Epshteyn at the European janusz korczak academy
As part of our scholarship program “Network Israel – Solidarity with Democratic Civil Society in Israel” funded by EVZ foundation, we have welcomed 15 scholarship holders in different partner organisations in Germany. We also support German-Israeli educational cooperation: As part of his fellowship, which brought him to the European Janusz Korczak Academy, Mikhail Epshteyn was able to initiate numerous new joint projects and take the first steps toward their implementation.
In July, Mikhail Epshteyn was a guest at the European Janusz Korczak Academy (EJKA) in Munich and Berlin, funded by a scholarship from Netzwerk Israel. The aim of his stay was to gain insights into the workings of the EJKA and to establish new partnerships for educational projects.
Mikhail is co-founder of the Israeli NGO “Together” – Institute for Educational Initiatives, which is still in the process of being established. The exchange with the EJKA CEOs was therefore particularly influential for Mikhail. In intensive discussions, he was able to learn about the core structures, program areas, and strategic approaches of a well-established civil society organisation, providing valuable input for the further development of his own organization in Israel.
The exchange with EJKA was particularly fruitful because both organizations pursue similar focuses: educational work to strengthen Jewish self-identification, and the development of educational programs to promote democracy, tolerance, and intercultural dialogue.
The intensive exchange not only produced new ideas, but also led to the first joint projects: Mikhail and his team will participate in the AI project “Ask Korczak”, which aims to make the ideas and texts of the well-known Jewish-Polish educator Janusz Korczak accessible with the help of GPT technology.
Furthermore he developed an online course on “Pedagogy of Respect” – from the content structure to the communication strategy, in close cooperation with EJKA. The project is now being implemented and is a prime example of how an exchange like between Mikhail and EJKA can generate German-Israeli educational initiatives.
The opportunity to network with other civil society actors, such as the J-ArtEck youth education center, Lyzeum 2, and the Schalasch Intercultural Center, has also led to many new joint project ideas and collaborations.
Inspired by the J-ArtEck summer camp, the idea for the “Pedagogical Dacha” project was born, which will be created in Israel as a creative retreat and learning center for educators, teachers, and instructors.
With the grant, the Netzwerk Israel was able to create the necessary framework and support for strengthening German-Israeli partnerships and incubating new projects.
Mikhail himself sums it up as follows: “I consider this exchange to be very enriching and productive – both for me personally and for our organization. I had the opportunity to learn in detail about how non-profit organizations work, to share my experiences with colleagues, and to present our own approaches. Concrete implementation steps have already been developed for some projects”.
With new ideas, new cooperations, and concrete projects, Mikhail returns to Israel, ready to further strengthen democratic education and continue German-Israeli exchange.
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