Shmuel Abuav, Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Education, recently visited Sindiana – the Arab Youth Village for Leadership. This was Abuav’s first visit to Sindiana, and he seemed very impressed with the activities at the youth village and the unmediated meetings he had with the students.
In partnership with leaders from the Israeli Arab community, the Society for Advancement of Education, Jerusalem (SAE) opened Sindiana in September 2017. Sindiana (meaning “Oak” in Arabic) is a high school educational framework developing a cohort of young leaders for the Arab community. The school campus is at Givat Haviva which is centrally located, easily reached by students from around the Triangle region.
Sindiana cultivates the values of excellence, leadership and identity among Arab youth with the goal of opening paths to success in academia, employment and society. The school currently has 200 students in grades 7, 9 and 10, of whom 25 are boarding students, and plans to double in size for the 2018-19 school year.
Abuav spoke personally with students in the boarding school and asked them questions regarding their favorite subjects, the difficulties they face and their reasons for choosing to study at the boarding school. The children, who were very excited by the visit, participated and talked openly about their feelings. Abuav visited the dormitory and classrooms and said that he will do everything in his power to support the first Arab youth village in Israel,
Na’el Odeh, the director of the residence, told Abuav about life in the boarding school and the vision for raising a new generation of engaged, caring leadership working to build a better society. Andera Biadse, principal of the youth village, spoke about the school and the educational vision at the core of its activities.
Also participating in the visit were Abdallah Hatib, director of the Arab branch of the Education Ministry, Sharon Sela, SAE finance director, and the Sindiana faculty.