27 July 2004 The ORT Rosner English Summer School This week saw the arrival in London of 19 students from ORT schools in Israel, here in London to take part in the three-week ORT Rosner English Summer School. The Summer School brings together a mixture of ethnicities and religions Muslim Arabs, Christian Arabs, Jews and Druze exemplifying the values of co-existence and tolerance that ORT promotes. The teenage participants have all been selected by a special ORT Israel committee for their strong leadership skills, educational achievement and commitment to volunteer projects. The 2004 ORT Rosner English Summer School follows the success of the first Summer School held in London last year, and is once again supported by its founder Jenny Rosner, a friend and supporter of ORT. Mrs Rosner recognised the real need to help ORT students on their way with a better start to their eventual careers and with the opportunity to improve their skills in English through this exciting cultural and educational experience. Using the skills learned in London the students will, on their return to Israel, give something back to their communities by providing students at their own schools with English tuition. Robert Singer, Director General of World ORT (1st left) and Jenny Rosner (5th left) who generously sponsored the Summer School along with the Israeli students at the ORT welcome reception All of the participating students volunteer in their local communities in a variety of projects, such as giving their time to work with children being treated for cancer (ORTs Sunflowers project), or working the elderly, and all have exhibited strong leadership skills. Some of the students are immigrants who overcome a particularly difficult absorption and settling-in period and, through ORT’s programmes, have integrated successfully into Israeli life. Among the Summer School participants are a number of students who emigrated to Israel from the Former Soviet Union and have spared no effort to overcome the challenges posed language and culture to achieve success in international competitions. Also participating is an Israeli student who was part of an ORT school team selected by NASA to take part in the SPACEHAB STARS project which sent its experiment on the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003 which sadly ended with the death of Israels first ever astronaut, the late Ilan Ramon. Whilst in London the students will study English and also take part in seminars on science, history and astronomy related subjects. The students will also visit a number of places of special interest relevant to their studies, such as the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum. During their stay in London participate at a reception in the presence of a number of special guests including Minister Plenipotentiary at the Israeli Embassy in London, Zvi Ravner; Vice President of the Maimonides Foundation (a joint Jewish-Muslim interfaith organisation, which fosters understanding, dialogue, and co-operation between Jews and Muslims through cultural, academic and educational programmes based on mutual respect and trust), and Principal of the Muslim College, Dr Zaki Badawi; Executive Director of the Maimonides Foundation, Mehri Niknam; Coordinator of the Three Faiths Forum (which encourages friendship, goodwill and understanding amongst people of the three monotheistic faiths in the UK and elsewhere), Sidney Shipton; Jenny Rosner, founder and sponsor of the English Summer School, and Deputy Mayor of Camden, Councillor Barbra Hughes MBE.