During the last decade, the academic arena in Israel has become a shared space of great social importance. Thousands of men and women each year enter the gates of a campus in Israel. For many of them, the campus is where they experience their first real encounter with social groups other than their own. The relations between students from different groups – Arabs, ultra-Orthodox, Israelis of Ethiopian origin, secular or traditional people, and so on – form an immensely important social opportunity, placing the campus as a key arena for promoting and improving relations between different groups in Israel.

Because the student population frequently changes, the academia department works with administrators, faculty and staff who meet with students year after year and shape the experience of intergroup encounter on campus. Our work is targeted to influence the various campus populations, including academic staff, administrative staff, security personnel and university management, as well as organizational structures.