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The Council for a Beautiful Israel's doctrine advocates instilling long-lasting changes through education. Therefore, CBI has made environmental education a pillar of its creed and a main focus of its activities, establishing its first Center for Environmental Education in Israel in 1993.
Through its environmental education programs, CBI hopes to promote its main goal of teaching environmental protection and sustainability, and instilling its core values throughout Israel. CBI's continued leadership in its field is possible by applying the CBI motto which reads: providing knowledge leads to awareness which leads to behavioral change and environmental leadership.
Hundreds of thousands have already participated
Through its centers, the Council for a Beautiful Israel has been able to reach hundreds of thousands of people, of all ages, in major cities, peripheral towns and non-Jewish communities.
CBI’s target audiences are children from kindergarten to high school; teachers, headmasters and school supervisors; government offices and officials, municipalities, IDF soldiers, the elderly, heterogenic adults groups, commercial companies and many more.
In the past three years, over 100,000 school students have benefited from CBI's study programs; Over 20,000 IDF soldiers and officers have participated in specially developed programs during 2009; and during the current school year over 1,000 high school students are participating in the unique Irotop study program, in which their works concerning environment and urban planning entitle them for matriculation accreditation; The Council for a Beautiful Israel has set out to reach all parts of Israel, and is currently building a new educational center in Jerusalem. Another center is planned in the northern city of Carmiel. Meanwhile, CBI operates mobile units in the periphery – our flagship project which now needs additional funding – in order to promote equal educational opportunities for all sectors of society in Israel's north and south.
Developing experiential and challenging programs
The Council for Beautiful Israel's activities include formulating, developing and operating challenging educational programs, as well as organizing workshops for participants of all ages.
CBI strives to develop a wide range of original study programs relating to major environmental issues, using unique learning tools, meant to provide students with a rich, enjoyable, hands-on experience.
CBI programs aim to meet three objectives:
1. Enriching the students' knowledge on a variety of local and global issues.
2. Increasing students' awareness to serious ecological issues affecting urban areas.
3. Developing possible solutions.
The programs are taught by CBI's professional team of instructors – all with academic background in relevant fields – which are trained especially to meet CBI's high standards.
Special Educational Initiatives
The Council for a Beautiful Israel also leads several environmental initiatives geared towards promoting sustainability values and grooming "green leaders":
• Leaders of Urban Sustainability – a program sponsored by Applied Materials. It is currently held in the cities of Ness-Ziona and Rehovot and will soon be expanded to the city of Hadera.
• Educating Towards Green Leadership in the IDF – a program to be implemented in all leadership and officers' training courses in the IDF, in order to make environmental care a non-separable part of the IDF leaders' training.
• Collaboration with Palestinian educational organizations, training senior educators from the Palestinian Authority.
Environmental Cooperation
The Council for a Beautiful Israel's professionalism and experience have won it several prestigious tenders:
• CBI is a third-time consecutive winner of The Ministry of Education's tender for environmental education in the formal education system.
• The Defense ministry's tender for environmental studies for the Israel Defense Forces. March of 2009 saw the Council for a Beautiful Israel extend a special environmental study program to the IDF. So far, 20,000 soldiers and officers have participated in this program. • IGUDAN - Dan Regional Association for Environmental Infrastructures, which operates the largest waste water treatment plant in the Middle East, selected CBI to develop and teach educational programs in schools in the region, and to operate its visitors' center which is situated in the city of Rishon LeZion.
The fact that CBI was selected for these tenders is an indication of the growing need for the educational programs it provides. It also provides a great opportunity to reach growing audience of adults and students alike - one of CBI's main goals.
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