Supporting Professionals During COVID 19

MASHAV Carmel Training Center (MCTC) the first center for Israel’s Agency for International Cooperation (MASHAV) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with decisive actions.  Throughout the pandemic, MCTC has been supporting thousands of professionals through online lectures. MCTC invited profound Israeli professionals to conduct lectures and hold meetings with thousands of people from more than 100 countries. 

The MASHAV story begins when Golda Meir, Israel’s former prime minister visited Africa. During her visit, Golda Meir noticed the challenges nations faced after achieving independence. On her return to Israel, she was convinced that Israel must play a significant role in assisting these nations in their struggle with problems of poor health for children and family,  high level of illiteracy, and low status of women. By 1957, MASHAV had established and begun sharing with the rest of the developing world the know-how and technologies which provided the basis for Israel’s own rapid development. In 1961, Golda Meir and Mina Ben- Zvi founded MCTC and it became the first MASHAV center. 

In this current global crisis, MCTC has conducted multiple online lectures.  The lectures focused on methods to cope with socio-economic challenges emerging due to the outbreak of COVID 19. Up to date, thousands of professionals had attended MCTC’s lecture.  Topics discussed include speaking with young children in times of uncertainty, tips for entrepreneurs and business continuity during COVID 19, how to protect women from domestic violence during the Coronavirus crisis, how to help children deal with their fears, human trafficking, and organizational change management in challenging times. The lectures are conducted in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic languages. 

MCTC focuses on empowering women in this time of crisis. All of the lectures stressed on how to support women during challenging times. Women’s vulnerability increased more than anytime ever and many are facing violence, financial stress, and uncertainty. MCTC invited Israeli professionals to address those paramount topics to the international audience. 

Since its establishment, MCTC supported women and brought women leaders to share their experiences. This year, MCTC will have the e-Women Conference scheduled to be held on July 27 – 28, 2020. The e-International Women Leaders Conference will celebrate women leaders. This year’s special e-conference will analyze the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide a platform for leading women from all over the world to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls. Participants will include heads of state, senior policymakers, Ministers and MPs, leading figures from all walks of life including the socio-economic sphere, the media, business, and the private sector, as well as high-ranking representatives from academia, international NGO’s and UN organizations, specialized agencies and programmes.

MCTC continues the vision of former Prime Minister Golda Meir to support and empower women across the world to become a leader of their community.