Issue 02 · August 2026
A Note from CEO, Dov Ben-Shimon
Dear friends,
Time for another trip around the world with the second installment of WORLD repORT. It is August, summer is winding down, and before we know it school will be in full swing. But before we kick off a new year, we want to pause and recognize the extraordinary occasions that made this summer one to remember. Let’s take a peek.
Dov Ben-Shimon
CEO, World ORT
Featured Story:
Young entrepreneurs from Ukraine and Brazil meet in United Kingdom
Gabriel, a student at Escola ORT Brazil, took an idea through World ORT’s Young Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) and won the Southern Hemisphere bracket. The prize was a trip to London alongside the Northern Hemisphere winners from ORT Lyceum #15 in Ukraine. Seventeen ORT schools from eleven countries competed across two hemispheres. In London, the students took classes with leading tech professionals, sharpened their presentation skills in storytelling workshops, and even learned to vibe code a website in just one day. Entrepreneurship is not a temperament. It is a skill and it can be taught.
Network Spotlight:
A new door opens in Bulgaria
This summer we opened our ninth ORT Digital Skills Academy, in Sofia, Bulgaria, bringing together ORT students from more than a dozen countries to learn the digital skills that careers are built on, taught by specialists working in the field. They arrive as strangers and leave as a network of their own. World ORT CEO Dov Ben-Shimon traveled to Sofia for the opening, hosted by ORT Bulgaria Director Dr. Plamen Petrov and ORT Bulgaria Chair Victor Toledo and the team who built the program on the ground. The numbers show why it has earned its place among World ORT’s strongest offerings:
- 93% of students found the learning and practical projects engaging
- 86% came away understanding how professionals actually work
- 27 of the 28 students surveyed said they would recommend it
As one participant described, the Academy is “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” While summer might be coming to a close, the doors to what’s next are wide open for these students.
Fundraising Focus:
Thirty years of Jurisprudence
Earlier this summer, our US Midwest Region marked the 30th anniversary of the World ORT Jurisprudence Award with nearly 200 guests at the Union Club in Cleveland. This year’s honorees were Ann-Marie Ahern and Lawrence E. Oscar, both recognized for legal careers that have served something larger than the law itself. The evening also honored Ken Liffman, who had the vision three decades ago to bring the award to Cleveland in support of World ORT. His parents were Holocaust survivors, and they taught him that opportunity is never something to take for granted, a thread that ties him to World ORT’s own history of teaching survivors in displaced persons camps the skills to rebuild their lives. His award was presented by his daughter, Danielle Garson, an attorney at the same firm where he has spent his career and a member of the World ORT Midwest Region Board. Thirty years of proceeds have funded innovation in classrooms and labs around the world, creating opportunity for the next generation.
TRAVEL OPPORTUNITY
May 16–19, 2027
Join Us in Mexico City
Mark your calendars for the World ORT Global Forum! Our biggest event of the year is being held in Mexico City, May 16 through 19, 2027. Join us for energizing programming, inspiring school visits, and the chance to experience our educational network in action.
In Case You Missed It:
World ORT In the News
We have been collecting and consolidating every article published about World ORT this year onto a single page. So, if you are craving some feel-good stories that celebrate the work you help make possible, there is no shortage. The Berkshires. London. New Jersey. Have a look at where our work is turning up.
By the Numbers
80,000+
Students
200,000+
Beneficiaries
30+
Countries
What’s Next
That’s August. Thanks for reading, we’ll see you in September.