Immigrant Students Practice Social Entrepreneurship

Students from the Former Soviet Union, not usually known for their orientation toward social change, have proven to be enamored of the area once they are exposed to it. Several graduates from the first year of SHATIL's course to train FSU immigrant students to become social entrepreneurs are continuing to work on the Salsa Project, which informs immigrant students of their rights and responsibilities, scholarship and work opportunities, etc. The program was launched in March in a local technical college in collaboration with another youth organization. The students are in discussion with Ben Gurion University of the Negev to replicate the project there.

Participants in the second cycle of the course together with the course's Graduates Forum from the first cycle are working on integrating youth from the FSU into Israeli youth movements. As part of this effort, they are giving workshops in the special characteristics of immigrant youth to youth movement coordinators and are discussing with them ways to encourage the participation of immigrant youth. The group also obtained the support and assistance of the head of Be'er Sheva's education department in their project to prevent hidden school drop out. A group from the second cycle is working to promote the issues of immigrant youth at risk on candidates' platforms in the local elections.

The Graduates' Forum developed and launched an internet forum in which participants can report on their activities, share ideas, announce events, ask for advice and discuss dilemmas. They aim to develop it into a web site to be used as a communications platform for anyone interested in immigrant youth, from the youth themselves to organizations and professionals who work with them and other interested parties. In the more distant future, the graduates hope to found a youth organization that deals with immigrant youth issues in the south.