World ORT
Encyclopedia
World ORT is a non-profit non-governmental organization
whose mission is the advancement of Jewish and other people through training and education, with past and present activities in over 100 countries.
World ORT is a federation of autonomous ORT national organisations constituted in the form of associations and has current activities in over 61 countries. ORT works in collaboration with governments and agencies around the world. In 2005 ORT's global budget exceeded US$
250 million annually.
ORT's current operations are in Africa
, Asia-Pacific
, the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS
) and Baltic States
, Israel
, Latin America
, North America
and Western Europe
. ORT also runs International Cooperation programmes and supports non-sectarian economic and social development in under-developed parts of the world, with vocational training and the provision of technical assistance.
In 2003 Israel
was the area of ORT's largest operation, with 90,000 students educated or trained at ORT’s 159 schools, colleges and institutions, educating 25% of Israel
’s hi-tech workforce. However in 2006 ORT Israel withdrew from World ORT. World ORT continues to work in Israel under the name of Kadima Mada-Educating for Life, working with the Israeli Ministry of Education, other Israeli ministries, regional councils and hospitals providing increased resources and improved facilities and schools equipment. ORT Israel now raises funds in the United States through Friends of Israel Sci-Tech Schools.
World ORT raises funds through its membership organisations and through the United Jewish Congress (UJC).
World ORT is legally constituted in Switzerland
, but operates from offices in London
, England
. It has consultative status for information and education purposes with UNESCO
, and observer status at the International Labour Organization
.
ORT is a founding member of ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies).
at the end of the 18th century.
The annexation of Poland
had resulted in a sharp increase in the number of Jews in Russia and in 1794, it was decreed that the majority of them would henceforth be restricted to living and working in the Pale of Settlement
. The Jews were not allowed to leave the Pale or own land outside it. They were removed from their homes and villages and once resettled, barred from all but a handful of professions. The crowded conditions and legal barriers to self-sufficiency led to deepening poverty for the Pale's four million inhabitants.
After the reforms of Tsar Alexander II, the situation improved for some Jews but those in the Pale remained trapped by economic hardship and dismal conditions. Leading members of Jewish society knew that something had to be done and in 1880, three of them - Samuel Polyakov
, Horace de Gunzburg and Nikolai Bakst - petitioned Tsar Alexander II for permission to start an assistance fund which would improve the lives of the millions of Russian Jews then living in poverty. The fund would provide education and training in practical occupations like handicrafts and agricultural skills and would help people to help themselves - providing in that way, not only a livelihood, dignity as well.
Permission was granted and the appeal was sent out, signed by Poliakov and de Gunzburg as well as Abram Zak, Leon Rosenthal and Meer Fridland and was an immediate success. That success led the Russian authorities to create the Общество ремесленного и земледельческого труда среди евреев в России (Society for Trades and Agricultural Labor among the Jews in Russia). Though over the decades it has stood for many things, it is from this original name that the term "ORT" is derived.
In its first 25 years, ORT had raised educational standards and provided training to 25,000 Jews across the Russian Empire
. People trained as artisans in glass-blowing, learned sewing and gardening, trained as mechanics, cabinetmakers, and furniture designers http://www.ort.org/asp/article.asp?id=117.
After World War I
, ORT’s focus went global. Beginning in Europe, they opened vocational and agricultural schools, providing the tools, training - even the seeds - to encourage agricultural expansion. The organization itself was expanding as well. The headquarters moved - first to Berlin
, then to France
and finally to Geneva
. Local groups - such as American ORT and Women's American ORT, ORT Canada and British ORT - were formed to support the growing network of programs and the ORT family grew. In 1938 however, Stalinist purges forced the closure of ORT programs in the Soviet Union
. It would be almost 60 years before the organization was able to return.
During World War II
, ORT continued to serve Jewish communities - including those under Nazi occupation as well. In the Warsaw Ghetto
, the German authorities gave ORT permission to open vocational training courses. Those courses continued throughout the war and until the liquidation of the Ghetto. They served as a template for similar ORT programs in other Jewish centers like Lodz
and Kaunas
.
After the end of World War II, the extent of the Nazi atrocities became clear and again, ORT adapted to meet the needs of its community. Rehabilitation programs were established for the survivors, vocational training centers were set up in 78 DP (Displaced Persons) Camps and nearly 85,000 people acquired professions and the tools they would need to rebuild their lives.
When the State of Israel
was established in May 1948, ORT operations were started in Jaffa
and Jerusalem and though the Iron Curtain
had resulted in the closure of ORT’s activities in Eastern Europe
, around the rest of the world - including Western Europe
, Algeria
, Morocco
, Tunisia
, Iran
and India
- ORT's activities intensified.
During the second half of the 20th century, ORT continued to provide education and relief services to Jewish communities in Israel
, Africa
and Asia
while at the same time opening new programs to serve the Latin American Jewish communities in Argentina
, Brazil
and Uruguay
. ORT students in all these places were trained to meet the demands of the modern workplace with a state-of-the-art education in technology and academics. In the early 1990s, ORT returned to the former Soviet Union and the Baltic States and now serves 27,000 students in 58 schools and educational institutions every year.
In 2000, World ORT celebrated its 120th anniversary. The educational services provided through their network continues and has now been supplemented by programs intended to deliver basic nutrition, clothing, books and school supplies, counseling and other services designed to meet the growing emotional needs of students as well http://www.ortamerica.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_hist_ort.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
whose mission is the advancement of Jewish and other people through training and education, with past and present activities in over 100 countries.
World ORT is a federation of autonomous ORT national organisations constituted in the form of associations and has current activities in over 61 countries. ORT works in collaboration with governments and agencies around the world. In 2005 ORT's global budget exceeded US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
250 million annually.
ORT's current operations are in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
, the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
(CIS
CIS
CIS usually refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern political entity consisting of eleven former Soviet Union republics.The acronym CIS may also refer to:-Organizations:...
) and Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. ORT also runs International Cooperation programmes and supports non-sectarian economic and social development in under-developed parts of the world, with vocational training and the provision of technical assistance.
In 2003 Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was the area of ORT's largest operation, with 90,000 students educated or trained at ORT’s 159 schools, colleges and institutions, educating 25% of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
’s hi-tech workforce. However in 2006 ORT Israel withdrew from World ORT. World ORT continues to work in Israel under the name of Kadima Mada-Educating for Life, working with the Israeli Ministry of Education, other Israeli ministries, regional councils and hospitals providing increased resources and improved facilities and schools equipment. ORT Israel now raises funds in the United States through Friends of Israel Sci-Tech Schools.
World ORT raises funds through its membership organisations and through the United Jewish Congress (UJC).
World ORT is legally constituted in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, but operates from offices in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It has consultative status for information and education purposes with UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, and observer status at the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
.
ORT is a founding member of ICVA (International Council of Voluntary Agencies).
Origins of World ORT
The origins of what later became World ORT can be found by examining the conditions for the Jewish population of RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
at the end of the 18th century.
The annexation of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
had resulted in a sharp increase in the number of Jews in Russia and in 1794, it was decreed that the majority of them would henceforth be restricted to living and working in the Pale of Settlement
Pale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
. The Jews were not allowed to leave the Pale or own land outside it. They were removed from their homes and villages and once resettled, barred from all but a handful of professions. The crowded conditions and legal barriers to self-sufficiency led to deepening poverty for the Pale's four million inhabitants.
After the reforms of Tsar Alexander II, the situation improved for some Jews but those in the Pale remained trapped by economic hardship and dismal conditions. Leading members of Jewish society knew that something had to be done and in 1880, three of them - Samuel Polyakov
Samuel Polyakov
Samuel Polyakov was a Russian businessman, informally known as the "most famous railroad king" of the Russian Empire, the senior member of the Polyakov business family, a philanthropist and a Jewish civil rights activist, co-founder of World ORT. Polyakov's business interests concentrated in...
, Horace de Gunzburg and Nikolai Bakst - petitioned Tsar Alexander II for permission to start an assistance fund which would improve the lives of the millions of Russian Jews then living in poverty. The fund would provide education and training in practical occupations like handicrafts and agricultural skills and would help people to help themselves - providing in that way, not only a livelihood, dignity as well.
Permission was granted and the appeal was sent out, signed by Poliakov and de Gunzburg as well as Abram Zak, Leon Rosenthal and Meer Fridland and was an immediate success. That success led the Russian authorities to create the Общество ремесленного и земледельческого труда среди евреев в России (Society for Trades and Agricultural Labor among the Jews in Russia). Though over the decades it has stood for many things, it is from this original name that the term "ORT" is derived.
In its first 25 years, ORT had raised educational standards and provided training to 25,000 Jews across the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. People trained as artisans in glass-blowing, learned sewing and gardening, trained as mechanics, cabinetmakers, and furniture designers http://www.ort.org/asp/article.asp?id=117.
History of World ORT
The first programs created by ORT - and the organizational framework that continues to this day - were dictated by the demand of the market. In 1909, the industrialization in Russia created a need for artisans - so that is what ORT trained people to do. They developed courses for electricians in Vilna where electric streetcars were being introduced. They offered automotive courses in St. Petersburg when the automobile began taking root there in 1910. ORT’s training programs varied to meet the needs of Jews depending on where they lived and what the gaps in the workforce were. That flexibility and diversity meant that ORT became as established educational leader in many fields within only its first few decades of existence.After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, ORT’s focus went global. Beginning in Europe, they opened vocational and agricultural schools, providing the tools, training - even the seeds - to encourage agricultural expansion. The organization itself was expanding as well. The headquarters moved - first to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, then to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and finally to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Local groups - such as American ORT and Women's American ORT, ORT Canada and British ORT - were formed to support the growing network of programs and the ORT family grew. In 1938 however, Stalinist purges forced the closure of ORT programs in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It would be almost 60 years before the organization was able to return.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, ORT continued to serve Jewish communities - including those under Nazi occupation as well. In the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
, the German authorities gave ORT permission to open vocational training courses. Those courses continued throughout the war and until the liquidation of the Ghetto. They served as a template for similar ORT programs in other Jewish centers like Lodz
Lódz
Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw...
and Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
.
After the end of World War II, the extent of the Nazi atrocities became clear and again, ORT adapted to meet the needs of its community. Rehabilitation programs were established for the survivors, vocational training centers were set up in 78 DP (Displaced Persons) Camps and nearly 85,000 people acquired professions and the tools they would need to rebuild their lives.
When the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was established in May 1948, ORT operations were started in Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
and Jerusalem and though the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
had resulted in the closure of ORT’s activities in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, around the rest of the world - including Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- ORT's activities intensified.
During the second half of the 20th century, ORT continued to provide education and relief services to Jewish communities in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
while at the same time opening new programs to serve the Latin American Jewish communities in Argentina
ORT Argentina
ORT Argentina, founded in 1936, is a non-government organization devoted to education. It serves the Jewish community in Argentina. There are two ORT Technical Schools in Buenos Aires, a post-secondary Institute of Technology, and a School of Integration of Technology, Management and Business. ORT...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. ORT students in all these places were trained to meet the demands of the modern workplace with a state-of-the-art education in technology and academics. In the early 1990s, ORT returned to the former Soviet Union and the Baltic States and now serves 27,000 students in 58 schools and educational institutions every year.
In 2000, World ORT celebrated its 120th anniversary. The educational services provided through their network continues and has now been supplemented by programs intended to deliver basic nutrition, clothing, books and school supplies, counseling and other services designed to meet the growing emotional needs of students as well http://www.ortamerica.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_hist_ort.
Current and Ongoing Programs
In addition to providing ongoing technical and financial support for its network of schools and programs in 60 countries around the world, World ORT's has developed additional campaigns intended to respond to some areas in greatest need. These projects include (but are not limited to):- The Latin America Campaign: In 2006-7, ORT began a major program of new projects intended to create a sense of unity and connection throughout the region and meeting the highly individual and specific needs of each community. This campaign is active in small Jewish communities as well as larger ones. For example, the two ORT ArgentinaORT ArgentinaORT Argentina, founded in 1936, is a non-government organization devoted to education. It serves the Jewish community in Argentina. There are two ORT Technical Schools in Buenos Aires, a post-secondary Institute of Technology, and a School of Integration of Technology, Management and Business. ORT...
high schools in Buenos Aires are overcrowded and a new high school is being planned to accommodate the students there. At the same time, the Jewish community in Montevideo (where ORT operates a four year university), is getting much needed scholarship funds and while the community in Mexico city will soon benefit from the new new digital media center being built.
- Science Journey in Israel: Science Journey is a new $7.4 million program that delivers electronic, science and computer labs as well as technology education to students in more than 30 schools throughout Israel, most of which are in northern Israel, and suffered the brunt of last summer’s war with Hezbollah, and in those in areas which are prone to rocket attack from Gaza. The new computer labs and whiteboard technology provide a new opportunity for students. The program works with local authorities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, and marks a new phase in ORT’s 59-year-long commitment to bring the best practical education available to the Jewish State.
- Regeneration CIS: This aims to bring quality Judaic and general high school education to Jewish communities throughout the independent sovereign states of the region that was formerly the Soviet Union. ORT plans to include in the new program 18 schools and centers in Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Belarus and Kyrgistan. In order to complete its mission for the renewed program, ORT will ensure that equipment and services in existing centers are maintained and fully operational, to upgrade systems to enable them to deliver enhanced options, to provide school-wide training to ensure that all staff is able to deliver the new materials, and to provide ongoing staffing and resources. In the new centers, ORT will carry out necessary refurbishments, plan and install new systems and services, train staff, and provide ongoing staffing and support.