Bezalel among 2016 Ruderman Prize in Inclusion winners

“This year’s Ruderman Prize in Inclusion awardees represent the innovation and ingenuity taking place around the globe that is leading us to a more inclusive world.”

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI
Bezalel Academy founder Boris Schatz (right) and Prof. Israel Aharoni visit the Bezalel Museum’s natural collection in 1909. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Bezalel Academy founder Boris Schatz (right) and Prof. Israel Aharoni visit the Bezalel Museum’s natural collection in 1909.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Bezalel Academy for Art and Design in Jerusalem, a world-renowned institution known for designing products specifically for the use of those with disabilities, is one of the winners of the 2016 Ruderman Prize in Inclusion The Ruderman Prize in Inclusion, which is funded by the Ruderman Family Foundation, is awarded to organizations in the Jewish community worldwide operating innovative programs and services toward advancing the full inclusion of people with disabilities, in order to celebrate them as inspirations and models that could be replicated elsewhere.
The prize, now in its fifth year, is a signature program of the Ruderman Family Foundation, which believes that inclusion and understanding of all people is essential to a fair and flourishing community.
The Foundation will award $50,000 to each of the five announced winners to continue their work and pursue new opportunities for inclusion in the fields of technology, the arts and advocacy in the media.
Other winners include AXS Map, a groundbreaking online database and mobile app that allows users to find, rate and share accessibility information on businesses and buildings throughout the US and Egalite, an online employment platform for people with disabilities to connect with companies and find jobs.
In the field of media advocacy, the prize was awarded to the organizers of the Media Access Awards, an annual award ceremony in Los Angeles that honors, highlights and promotes disability and its depictions in film, television and new media, as well as to Sozialhelden e.V., a Germany- based nonprofit organization that works to change the way people with disabilities are reported on in the media by making disability content and photos more accessible.
“This year’s Ruderman Prize in Inclusion awardees represent the innovation and ingenuity taking place around the globe that is leading us to a more inclusive world,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation.
“As our societies move away from the segregation and institutionalization of people with disabilities toward respecting the rights of 20% of our population to be fully included in every aspect of modern life, our awardees from the US [Hollywood and Brooklyn], Germany, Israel and Brazil are examples that can inspire us to do better and be better in making disability inclusion a reality,” he said.
Over 400 nominations for the prize flooded in from around the world over the past five months.
To date, 30 organizations and companies worldwide have been recipients of the prize throughout its five-year history, including those based in Russia, the UK, the United States, Mexico, Israel, South Africa, Australia, Canada and Argentina.