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עט השדה
2012
פברואר
Preface
Developing services and social responses in a learning organization
Dr. Rami Sulimani, Director-General, Ashalim
Ashalim, as a non-profit organization under the joint umbrella of JDC, the Israeli government, and
UJA-Federation of New York, is involved in planning and developing services for children and
youth at risk and in supporting the professionals who work with them.
One of the most important and challenging roles of the social services development body is to
serve as a catalyst for learning processes. Fulfilling this complex goal requires studying significant
and innovative trends developing in Israel and abroad, creating a link between them and fostering
action in the field using a variety of dissemination methods.
In our eyes, Ashalim's power and the key to its continued success lies at the point of contact
between development and learning, and between academia and the field. This is where we produce
new knowledge and create interfaces between disciplines and different specialist fields, which
have the ability to ensure relevance in a complex reality.
Such a professional discussion not only has the power to expose "islands" of hidden knowledge
but also to transform them into new areas of accessible, overt knowledge for the benefit of
professionals working with children and youth at risk.
At a time when financial resources are becoming scarce for social organizations engaged in the
development and export of professional knowledge, Ashalim is solidifying and disseminating
organizational and professional learning channels based on collegial discussion. Ashalim does this
while stressing the strong link between the ability to develop practical solutions and a reliance on
theoretical knowledge. This is a long-term investment that reinforces development processes and
drives them to be better and more innovative within the organization, with the main partners, and
in the field itself.
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