Background on MCTC for SI/Israel Web Site

The Mount Carmel Center (MCTC) was established in 1961 (when Golda Meir was Minister of Foreign Affairs) in Haifa, the city where Mina Ben Zvi, the Founding Director resided. Mina Ben Zvi was one of Israel’s dynamic leaders in the years leading up to independence – as an officer in the British ATS during the 2nd World War serving in Cairo, and later as first head of the Women’s Corps in the Israel Defense Forces (1948), organizer of the Dept. of Home Economics in the Ministry of Agriculture (1950), Council member of Haifa Municipality, Israel delegate to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, Labor Party delegate to the International Council of Social Democratic Women and founding member of SI Israel in 1957.

The Mount Carmel Center (renamed the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center in 1985) was established by MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to put gender issues on the international agenda or in other words to give women from developing countries and societies in transition equal opportunity to train abroad, develop their leadership skills and thereby contribute actively to the development of their countries. Recognition for the impetus to this project is given to Prime Minister Golda Meir, Mina Ben-Zvi and not less to Swedish Ambassador to Israel Inga Thorsson, who was instrumental through Swedish women’s organization and the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) to provide scholarships for African women to study at MCTC. For the first ten years of its existence, MCTC accepted only women. Since 1970, men and women are accepted for the constructive influence this has on the men participants. However, every effort is made that women make up at least half of the course contingent, in keeping with the original goal of the Center.

MCTC, a residential training center, is situated in a quiet suburban street in the Central Carmel area of Haifa. At any time of the year, 55 – 60 trainees from between 30 to 40 different countries may be studying in courses conducted in different languages (English and Spanish, or English and French and lately, Arabic and Russian is heard too.) Participants live and work at the Center, supported by the professional, office and house staff. In addition to the topic they have come to study, they learn about the backgrounds, cultures and traditions of the many different nations they represent, learning, also, that many of their problems are shared by all, and giving them a new perspective on their own countries.

Since 1961, more than 10,000 participants from 147 different countries have taken part in training activities at MCTC. Over the years, the period of study has become shorter, as more study opportunities are found in the participant’s own country. However the areas of concern remain as valid as ever. With adaptation to reflect changing needs, trends and priorities on the international development agenda, the three main subject of study remain: Community Organization for Social Change, Micro-enterprise Development and Early Childhood Education.

The MCTC training staff consults with specialists from universities, public services and the private sector to develop the training programs. It applies an active learning methodology which relies extensively on case material presented by participants from their own work experience, simulation exercises, and observation visits throughout Israel to economic, educational and social services in urban and rural areas to illustrate concepts and principles discussed in the classroom. Many courses require trainees to prepare and present project proposals to be carried out in their home communities on their return. MCTC’s specialized library is open 24 hours a day and houses more than 13,000 volumes of reference material in the languages and on the topics studied.

As important as the professional learning is the lasting impression left by the visits to the Christian and Moslem holy sites in the country that the Center organizes for the participants. Home hospitality, often by Soroptimist members of Haifa’s three clubs, is also part of study in Israel, as are the occasional Folklore evenings to which friends of the Center are invited.

The impact of the training at MCTC is expanded further by the request of participants’ institutions to send lecturers to their countries for two-week workshops on a selected topic they deem important. These On-the-Spot courses, as they are called, reinforces cooperative ties between institutions and MCTC, provides an opportunity to interview former students, and gather information about new training needs. Two teams recently returned from Cameroon and Grenada, among them Fannette Modek, member of the Haifa-Neve Shaanan Soroptimist Club

Another important source of information about the changing trends in development and especially in the needs and interests of women, are MCTC’s biennial Seminars for Women Leaders which bring together heads of NGOs from developing and developed countries with representatives of UN agencies for discussion and setting of objectives for the future. Ms Angela King, Assistant Director-General of the UN was the guest speaker at the International Symposium “The Impact of Women’s Training on Socio-Economic Development” held in Haifa in June 2001.

Mina Ben Zvi, founding member of the Haifa Soroptimist Club (1957) readily saw the similarity of purpose and objectives between MCTC and Soroptimist International. She also understood that women, organized in associations, can make their voices heard. Back in the 1960’s, the European Federation of Soroptimists and MCTC held a joint seminar which was seen as the forerunner of SI extension work in Africa. Since then, many European Soroptimists have attended the biennial Women Leaders Seminars/Symposia organized in Haifa.