City at the Center

Despite large investments, both by the government and by philanthropy, children in Israel’s periphery still have significantly fewer opportunities to realize their abilities and aspirations. This reality, combined with a growing awareness of the crucial impact of cities on their residents’ lives, has led to the development of a new, city-based approach to the challenges of social mobility.

As opposed to single-purpose interventions, the City at the Center initiative shifts the emphasis to long-term reinforcement of social structures and local leadership. Its overarching goal is to help the city build the capacity for self-management, so it can take the lead in providing cradle-to-career opportunities for its residents with their active participation.

The main elements of the initiative are:

Circle of impact – bringing all the stakeholders together to work in cross-sector partnerships to advance shared goals;
Capacity building – strengthening and developing the local authority’s organizational, human and professional capabilities;
Social mobility levers – focusing investments in high-priority fields for driving mobility, as defined by the city, for example early childhood, informal education, etc.

Partners

Local authorities | Philanthropy