World ORT, Papal group launch interfaith education project
How to promote dialogue among young people? Jewish education and the Vatican think they have a way.
By TAMARA ZIEVEUpdated: OCTOBER 30, 2017 12:04Pope Francis facilitates historic collaboration between the Vatican and World ORT. (photo credit: BERNARDO SAN TORCUATO)
The international Jewish education organization World ORT signed a historic agreement with the Vatican’s educational organization Scholas Occurrentes last week to organize an event that will allow young people all over the world to participate in an open, multicultural dialogue.The collaboration will draw hundreds of teenagers from diverse cultural and social backgrounds from across the globe to an international conference in Buenos Aires in October 2018.Pope Francis was present at the signing ceremony of this agreement, held on Thursday at the Vatican, along with Chairman of the Board of World ORT Darío Werthein and President and World Director of Scholas José María del Corral.“ORT and Scholas share a common goal that is to make the world a better place through education,” said Werthein. “This collaboration will allow us to reach more places, and for each and every one of the children to develop their potential, no matter where they come from.”The event seeks to provide a platform for multicultural and interreligious dialogue, with the aim of generating mutual respect.“We see in this cooperation an important tool to promote tolerance worldwide,” said Avi Ganon, CEO of World Ort. “As the center of the spiritual world, the state of Israel can become a fruitful meeting place for different religions, and the World Ort schools can portray an example for establishing an equal and respectful dialogue between different peoples.”Nonprofit organization World ORT promotes scientific- technological education as a mean of social mobility, and operates in over 37 countries reaching 300,000 students around the world.Scholas was founded by Pope Francis in August 2013, with the aim of linking technology with art and sports to promote social integration.
