Kolanena - a joint venture of the Good Spirit and Merchavim organizations, supported by the Ted Arison Family Foundation - was established to enhance social cohesion in Israel.
Each year, several joint projects are initiated by social change organizations that deal with various issues. The idea is to create associations among organizations characterized by encounters of people from different social groups, for example, ultra-orthodox and secular women, Jewish and Bedouin students etc., that work within the initiative’s framework to achieve a common goal.
For one year, an applied laboratory operated at IDC functioning as a combined effort of aChord Center and the Kolanena initiative, where insights and action tools were developed, joint dilemmas discussed, and a shared learning process was conducted. Among other things, the concept of social cohesion that underpins the project was distilled, and a tool was constructed based on important applied psychological principles for a fair and successful project among diverse organizations. Practical recommendations were formulated for facilitators working with the projects to advance the successful completion of their projects. In addition, aChord Center team conducted an evaluation study for the project.