Haifa hosts women's leadership festival aimed at Ukrainian refugees living in Israel

The festival was organized by HIAS Israel, the Volunteer Center for Humanitarian Aid to Refugees from Ukraine in Haifa (For refugees from Ukraine – humanitarian aid HaifaNorth), UNHCR, the Haifa City Integration Authority and other organizations. The event was held with the support of the Genesis Prize Foundation. The event took place on July 29, 2024.

The idea for the festival belongs to HIAS Israel, a Jewish international organization that provides legal, social and financial assistance to refugees, as well as assistance in employment and training in new skills.

Anna Polisuchenko wrote about this on Facebook — There are also photos from the festival here.

Zoya Levitin, HIAS Israel's Ukraine Aid Program Coordinator, emphasized the importance of refugees' independence. She said, “It is important to us that refugees from Ukraine try to help themselves and their families. For those who decided to stay in Israel, we have developed employment programs, understanding their need to provide for themselves and their loved ones independently.” Levitin noted support for the creation of Ukrainian communities throughout Israel and their social adaptation, as well as investment in integration through programs such as “Women's Leadership” and “Employment Program,” including master classes and a Telegram channel with vacancies.

Rostislav Yeshurin, HIAS employment program coordinator, spoke about a new program aimed at integrating refugees into the Israeli labor market. “We inform refugees from Ukraine about the rights of foreign workers in Israel, help them write resumes, and provide tools for official employment in Israel,” he noted.

Also, HIAS Israel, together with ATBE, offers a program for studying foreign languages ​​on the Rosetta Stone platform, with an emphasis on Hebrew, since there are no ulpans or courses for refugees. Yeshurin added that employers highly value the professionalism and hard work of Ukrainian refugees, although they fear that the employee may be deported. “We specifically work with employers to convince them that as long as the war in Ukraine continues, the visa will be extended and they have nothing to fear.”

Hanna Katz, coordinator of the volunteer center for refugee assistance in Haifa, spoke about the women's leadership program. She explained that the program is designed for active women who arrived in Israel after February 2022 and do not have citizenship. The program includes eight meetings of three hours each with local experts, and at the end, the participants propose their business projects for implementation. Katz added that participation in the program is free.

The Haifa Festival provided a variety of opportunities: consultations from Leumit on insurance for refugees, information on employee rights and job openings from HIAS Israel, and the opportunity to enroll in courses at the Rosetta Stone language school to improve English and Hebrew.

Read us in channels Israel News Nikk.Agency News from Israel V – Telegram— Facebook, — Google News