Launching the German-Israeli Future Network (2018)

The launching event of the German-Israeli Future Network, titled “SustainAbility!”, marked the 70th independence day of Israel and took place at Kibbutz Shefayim in May 2018. The conference addressed German and Israeli shared civil society challenges.

70 activists, stakeholders and social entrepreneurs were invited, 35 from Germany and 35 from Israel. The participants examined issues relevant to the futures of both societies in five areas: Education for Democracy, Society and Demographic Change, Digitalization, Environmental Protection and Art as a Change Maker.

The conference was a platform for multidisciplinary networking, while also focusing on identifying mutual challenges and opportunities, and developing ideas for future projects and collaborations.

Greetings by the German Ambassador Dr. Clemens von Goetze and Future Forum Executive Director Dr. Tamara Or opened the first evening event, followed by talks of Dr. Arye Carmon, founding president of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Adi Altschuler, a serial social entrepreneur.

The core workshops of the conference were led by facilitators from five prominent capacity building organizations in the Israeli civil society ecosystem: Shatil, Eretz-Ir, Presentense, Green Course and The Public Knowledge Workshop (“HASADNA”(. Among other activities, the new members of the German-Israeli Future Network participated in the movement workshop Moving Across Borders, facilitated by choreographer and winner of the 2017 Shimon Peres Prize Monica Gillette; and watched and later also participated in a performance by the “Holot Theatre” group, in which Israeli actors and asylum seekers are dealing with the lives of asylum seekers.

An evaluation survey conducted shortly after the event resulted in great feedback, not only concerning the selection of participants, the atmosphere and the logistics, but also regarding the effectivity of the conference for meeting relevant people/organizations and finding potential partners for future collaborations.

Concrete Results: 17 news ideas for collaboration

The end of the three-day-event was actually a starting signal for forging fresh connections and ideas into new long-term relationships and collaborations. To this end, all participants were offered a chance to apply for special project development grants of up to 2000 Euro each, for further developing concrete ideas for collaborations.

We were thrilled to receive no less than 17 promising applications. Alongside the German Israeli Sustainability Dialogue, additional four proposals for new German-Israeli collaborations were granted development grants.

Networking Event in Shefayim in May 2018
Cross-Cultural Paths to Youth Resilience (2025)
(In the context of our network program G17 for Resilience) Matchmaker Jamal Alkirnawi developed the collaboration between the organization he leads, A New Dawn in the Negev, which works to strengthen resilience within the Bedouin community in Israel, and Friedensdorf International in North Rhine–Westphalia, which … Continue reading
Inner Outer Better Spaces (2025)
(In the context of our network program G17 for Resilience) Matchmaker Sönke Kirchhof led a collaboration between the Tarbut Movement, which is committed to developing social resilience in Israel’s periphery, and INVR.SPACE from Germany, which specializes in virtual reality technologies. The initiative explored the … Continue reading
Peace & Resilience Federalist Exchange (2025)
(In the context of our network program G17 for Resilience) Matchmaker Dvir Aviam-Ezra led an initiative jointly organized by young federalist peace activists from Israel and the Young European Federalists organization from Germany. The collaboration took place in November 2025 and also included two public events, one … Continue reading
Women's Health Think Tank (2025)
(In the context of our network program G17 for Resilience) Matchmaker Yair Kira convened stakeholders from diverse fields related to women’s health, as a first step in building a platform to advance the topic. The shared starting point was the understanding that women’s health is a central, not a niche issue, … Continue reading
Israel Study Trip on the topic of Community Resilience (2024)
(In the context of our network program G17 for Resilience) In cooperation with an Israeli expert on community resilience, who had accompanied countless projects and initiatives in the field, we developed an engaging program for the trip. A group of professional women from Germany, all working in the fields of trauma … Continue reading
Resilience of people from areas of war and crisis (2024)
(In the context of our network program G17 for Resilience) Matchmaker Jamal Alkirnawi initiated a cooperation project on the topic of community resilience between the organization that he manages, A New Dawn in the Negev, which works for community resilience amongst Israel’s Bedouins, and Friedensdorf (“Peace … Continue reading
*Pluralistic* Global Shapers (2023)
In the context of our network program G17 for pluralism, which was conducted in close collaboration with our matchmakers, Matchmaker Dvir Aviam Ezra brought together the Israeli Global Shapers Hub with Global Shapers Hubs in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. The Global Shapers Hubs are local communities of young … Continue reading
*Pluralistic* Queer History (2023)
In the context of our network program G17 for pluralism, which was conducted in close collaboration with our matchmakers, Matchmaker Dikla Levinger brought together the Queer History Project in Haifa with Spinnboden, the lesbian archive and library in Berlin. Pluralism in the context of queer history is expressed, … Continue reading
*Pluralistic* Co-Creating Artists (2023)
In the context of our network program G17 for pluralism, which was conducted in close collaboration with our matchmakers, Matchmaker Zeev Engelmayer and co-organizer Daniel Hoernemann brought together the Israeli Cartoon Association and Zukunft:Kunst Association from North Rhine-Westphalia. The first workshop took … Continue reading
*Pluralistic* Youth Theater (2023)
In the context of our network program G17 for pluralism, which was conducted in close collaboration with our matchmakers, Matchmaker Lidia Averbukh brought together Homemade dance & Theater from Israel and Junges Theater Augsburg from Bavaria. The participants of the study trip in June 2023 found that they share … Continue reading
*Pluralistic* Women of the East (2023)
In the context of our network program G17 for pluralism, which was conducted in close collaboration with our matchmakers, Matchmakers Natalie Baruch & Dr. Lihi Nagler brought together Achoti – for Women in Israel and Maimonides Jewish-Muslim Education Institute from Rhineland-Palatinate. During the study trip in … Continue reading
Matchmaker Weekend: Re-Unite, Re-Search, Re-Vision (2022)
In May 2018, we launched our Future Network in Kibbutz Shefayim and began a long-term process with the aim of expanding the circles of those who are actively shaping Germany-Israel relations. In September 2022 – four years and one pandemic – we went back to this magical place, this time for a weekend with a … Continue reading
Matchmaker-Seminar Berlin (2021)
After a long period during which we could not host Matchmaker seminars in person, we were very happy to hold a physical seminar again over an entire day in Berlin. As in previous seminars, our new Matchmakers include activists and professionals from diverse backgrounds and contexts, with the main areas of expertise in … Continue reading
People to People Playground Festival (2021)
2 Weeks, 14 German-Israeli Creative Adventures From April 23 until May 7 Long run and large scale planning are not so easy these days. This is why the German-Israeli Future Forum set up mini-grants for digital formats, which allow cooperation partners from Germany and Israel to experiment with each other and … Continue reading
Digital Matchmaker Seminar (2020)
Due to Covid-19 restrictions we took our Matchmaker seminar online. So at the beginning of November, we had the pleasure of digitally meeting our 18 new Matchmakers, coming as usual from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. Since the program had to be shorten, we dedicated most of it to getting to know each other and … Continue reading
First Matchmaker Seminar in Israel (2019)
Our first Matchmaker seminar in Israel (and the second overall) took place at the end of November 2019.     Out of many wonderful applications that we received, we invited a selected group of social activists and professionals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines in the fields of education, social … Continue reading
First German-Israeli Matchmaker Seminar (2019)
The first twenty Matchmakers of the German-Israeli Future Network were qualified in a one-day seminar that took place in Berlin in mid-June 2019. The group was selected out of many great applications that we received, and consisted of Israelis and Germans from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.  Our Matchmakers … Continue reading
German Israeli Sustainability Dialogue (2018-2019)
The German Israeli Sustainability Dialogue brought together young professionals from ministries, non-governmental organizations and businesses. The common goal was to discuss the means of implementation of the UN-Sustainable Development Goals and to develop concrete policy recommendations. … Continue reading
Launching the German-Israeli Future Network (2018)
The launching event of the German-Israeli Future Network, titled “SustainAbility!”, marked the 70th independence day of Israel and took place at Kibbutz Shefayim in May 2018. The conference addressed German and Israeli shared civil society challenges. 70 activists, stakeholders and social entrepreneurs were … Continue reading