For the past three years, almost 7, 000 Qassam rockets and mortar shells have continually struck Sderot and the western Negev region. Hundreds of Israelis have been wounded and thousands psychologically traumatized from the sirens and rocket explosions. Close to 5,000 Sderot residents have been forced to relocate elsewhere.
Unfortunately, much of the international community and many Israelis remain grossly unaware of the gravity of the rocket fire and its place in the Israeli-Arab conflict. Our goal, as the only media center in the western Negev, is to raise awareness in Israel and the international community to the plight of Sderot residents. More importantly, understanding the reality of Sderot is a crucial element in presenting the Arab-Israeli conflict to a wider audience.
In light of the current situation, Sderot Media Center has added a new program to its hasbara activities with the object of training the students of today to be effective ambassadors of the Arab-Israeli conflict through the story of Sderot.
The program, Ambassadors of Tomorrow, is an all day training seminar that provides Israel advocacy training for high school and college students in the field of media. Students at the end of the seminar will gain the knowledge skills necessary for presenting the situation in Sderot and southern Israel in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict on college campuses and other venues.
Ambassadors for Tomorrow trains students in the following areas:
* Public Speaking
* Media Presentations featuring Sderot Media Center’s video documentations
* How to use elements of media including Internet, radio, newspapers, and television to advance the story of Sderot.
* Our area of expertise: communicating the human and personal elements of Sderot to a wider audience
The program features:
* In depth tours of Sderot and meeting Sderot officials and residents
* Lectures from IITC (Information and Intelligence Terrorism Center) specialists
* Visits to Israeli Checkpoints including Erez crossing
* Visits to Gaza viewpoints (near Kibbutz Nir Am)
* Meeting with IDF officials at the crossings
Note: If student groups are unable to reach Sderot for security reasons, Sderot Media Center will conduct the training seminar in the requested location.
The end goals of this program include forging international identification and empathy with western Negev residents through blogs, media presentations, news stories and awareness events. Consequently, by increasing public awareness and empathy of the Sderot situation, improvement in the current security situation of Sderot and western Negev residents will eventually follow as people gain a more balanced perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
For more details, please contact Izik Yarkoni at: 0544 934 694 or e-mail Sderot Media Center at [email protected] .
Best wishes,
Noam Bedein,
Director
SMC’s Past Clientele Includes:
Stand With Us * Young Judea * Jewish Agency * WZO * Aish HaTorah * Hasbara Fellowship * World Bnei Akiva * Ben Gurion University * IDC Herzliya * Hebrew University: Young Leaders Program * CAMERA * Gush Etzion and Netanya Communities * Hasmonean High Schools in London * ZOA
