From 15 to 16 January 2024, the German and Israeli Fellows of the Minerva Fellowship Programme came together in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg.
Since the outbreak of war in Israel, triggered by Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7 October 2023, the Fellowship Programme of the Minerva Stiftung has faced the greatest challenges in its 50-year history. In addition to the evacuation of the German Fellows from the crisis area shortly after the attack, the past few months were also characterised by the support for the Israeli Fellows in Germany in view of their concerns about the developments in their home country and the consequences for their family and friends.
Due to the crisis and the fact that all Minerva Fellows are currently in Germany, there was no meeting in Jerusalem in November 2023, as originally planned for the 50th anniversary of the Fellowship Programme. A meeting now seemed a good opportunity to come together.
On day 1 the participants had the opportunity to present their research projects from a diverse range of fields to an interested audience. A night walk, a nice get-together and a few games of table football rounded off the evening.
A half-day workshop on day 2 of the meeting with Israeli coach and psychologist Dr. Ori Harel, who had already conducted coaching sessions with the Israeli Fellows in the months before, was intended to enable the Fellows to strengthen their own resilience in these times of crisis and to learn helpful communication strategies. The workshop was concluded with mindfulness exercises.
Source and additional information: Minerva Stiftung