On March 15, 2021, the founding meeting of the International Think Tank on Human Development was held online. The creation of such a think tank was initiated by Russian-speaking Israelis with experience in scholarly and analytical work, both in Israel and outside of it.
The idea of creating an international platform to discuss the problems of social development within the framework of the “human development” model The idea of creating an international platform to discuss social development issues within the framework of the human development model of the United Nations Development Program brought together scholars, analysts from non-governmental organizations, and journalists from Israel, Russia, and Ukraine.
The founding meeting was attended by:
- Bsoul Manar is coordinator of solidarity programs between the Russian-speaking and Arabic-speaking communities in Israel;
- Ilchuk Leonid – Director of the Research Institute of Labor and Employment of the Ministry of Social Policy and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Ukraine);
- Igor Kaminnik – Chairman of the Board of Dor Moriah NGO (Israel);
- Kolpina Lola – Coordinator of research programs of the NGO “Dor Moriah” (Israel);
- Inna Pavlova is a journalist and coordinator of information programs at Dor Moriah (Israel);
- Roman Shilishpanov – Chairman, “Center for Religious Studies and Prevention of Religious Extremism,” Department of Philosophy and Theology, ION&MK, Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “BelSU” (Russian Federation).
According to the Statute of the International Think Tank on Human Development, the goal of the Center is:
- analysis of social sector problems based on human development indicators:
- level of education, knowledge, skills;
- development of evidence-based proposals to improve social policy;
- Initiating a scientific and public discussion on the problems of social development in accordance with the humanistic orientations of human development, and forming an appropriate socio-political agenda;
- supporting civic initiatives aimed at developing and promoting documents to improve the management of the social sphere in accordance with human development goals, as well as involving territorial communities in the implementation of relevant decisions.
The center’s work will include sociological research, local and state policy analysis based on human development indicators, publications, and the development of scientific and applied research programs.