PASCAL subscribers will be interested in the progress we have been making in Isr4eal in learning city development and here is a summary of four main developments over the past few months:

1. The "Learning City" National Program - The Education Committee of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, approved the model of the "Learning Cities" as a national program. The committee hosted the Chairman of the Union of Local Authorities, members of the Knesset, government ministries, organizations, students and youth representatives. This achievement has generated many echoes in the government ministries, seeking to join the work and adopt the model as an engine of economic and social growth for the authorities in general and the periphery in particular;
2. The Chairman of the Union of Local Authorities issued a letter to all the mayors and local authorities recommending them to join the Israeli network of learning cities;
3. A pilot was launched with two learning regions from different socio-economic background: in the south, a touristic region of the Dead Sea area, and in the north, the Mate Asher regional council, with various types of communities including kibbutzim and moshavim, Arab villages, and community and other settlements;
4. The first cooperation of its kind between Italy and Israel. A model based on developing soft skills and employment for people age 50+. The project produced an agreement with the parliament of the Friuli-Venezua- Gulia region concerning cooperation on the basis of the "learning city" standards and entering the global network of learning cities.