
In cooperation with the German-Israeli Future Forum, the Federal Foreign Office is honouring the PowHer and Link Bridge projects with the Shimon Peres Prize 2024. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is the patron of the prize. The prizes will be awarded on 31 October 2024 by Minister of State Dr Tobias Lindner in Berlin.
PowHer is a German-Israeli cooperation project between Ludwig Wolker e.V. and Tzofim Olami, Link Bridge was initiated by
and Lotem.In addition, a one-off special prize will be awarded this year to the Israeli project SAHI, which supports evacuated young people. The jury also gave an honourable mention to the three initiatives Daily Postcards, Sunflowers and Shomrim, which support Israeli civil society.
The German-Israeli co-operation project PowHer brought together young women in Berlin, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Deir al-Asad in the Galilee to create a space for exchange and empowerment.
As part of their travels, the 24 participants met with women’s rights activists and entrepreneurs, discussed social change, took part in workshops on topics such as everyday sexism and discrimination, and participated in various cultural activities together. Whether Muslim, Druze, Christian, Jewish, Israeli, German or refugee women: each participant brought her own biography and experience to the group.
PowHer has thus laid the foundation for a network of young, committed women who work together across ethnic, religious and cultural boundaries in a dialogue for social change in both countries. It has created a framework in which the participants could raise their voices and were encouraged to stand up for equality, fight against sexism and strengthen their leadership skills.
October 7 and the war that followed have left Israeli society traumatised, stunned and wounded. In Germany, the effects can be felt in polarised debates and a rapid rise in anti-semitism.
What is already difficult to put into words for people without disabilities is even more difficult to grasp for people who face additional barriers. The Israeli-German co-operation project Link Bridge attempted to address this by helping people with disabilities to understand the frightening situation. To this end, current news from Israel was first produced in plain language and made available to the public on YouTube. The participants then channelled their feelings and thoughts into works of art in a guided process.
As a transnational inclusion project, Link Bridge strengthens the friendship, sympathy and participation of people with disabilities in Germany and Israel. The artworks will be presented to the public for the first time in autumn 2024 as part of an accessible touring exhibition in Germany and Israel.
SAHI
Young people are particularly affected by the consequences of October 7. Many were exposed to brutal atrocities and lost relatives and friends. In the first few weeks, many young people were evacuated for an indefinite period.
The young people were torn away from their familiar surroundings and routines, leaving many feeling lonely and hopeless. In response to the urgent needs of young people, the Special Hessed (Grace) Unit for Evacuated Youth, SAHI for short, launched a programme with evacuated young people in various Israeli cities in November 2023. Under the motto ‘We are not here to help you, we need your help to help others’, the young people meet once a week in the evening, pack aid packages and distribute them together to families and elderly people in need.
The SAHI project offers the affected evacuated young people a support framework in which they can regain their self-efficacy and process what they have experienced.
Source and additional information: stiftung deutsch-israelisches zukunftsforum