A Great New Partnership: The International Institute for Democratic Resilience – Beit Berl Academic College

Among those present was the former Minister of Education and current president of the college, Professor Yael (Yuli) Tamir. FES Israel was represented by Resident Representative Ralf Melzer and Project Manager Micky Drill.

"The International Institute for Democratic Resilience (IIDR)" was brought to life by the Beit Berl Academic College, in order to strengthen democratic resilience by building practical democratic capacity through civic entrepreneurship, applied research, and collaborative innovation.

The Institute operates on the understanding that democratic resilience cannot be built by isolated organizations alone. It needs new forms of collaborations that are practical, disciplined, cross-sector, and capable of producing meaningful shared action.

This goal is to be achieved through a so called "Living Lab" where educators, researchers, and activists collaborate to translate democratic values into practical tools. They pursue a structured field-tested model for building effective collaboration under realistic conditions.

At the Evaluation the first Cohort initiatives which highlight cross-organizational projects were presented: 

• Early Childhood: Interactive media to introduce foundational democratic values.  

• Data & Measurement: “Democratic Mirror” as a platform for standardized evaluation of democracy programs. 

• Youth Engagement: Reconnecting adolescents to democratic identity through new media.

• Educator Support: A Freedom of Expression clinic (The Education Defense Clinic) providing pedagogical and legal aid. 

• Experiential Learning: Civic learning practicums for building active communities.

The main part of our visit was the joint evaluation of the ongoing program and their progress.

It was concluded that the project has been highly successful in its first year. 

The Friedrich-Eber-Stiftung is looking forward to continuing the Collaboration with the Beit Berl Academic College and the International Institute for Democratic Resilience.