Israeli foundation to host panel at UN convention on disability rights

• Published date: 15 June 2021
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The Athena Foundation, which has the status of Special Adviser to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), specializes in empowering teachers through advanced technology, and will be hosting an online event to discuss the use of technology for teaching students with disabilities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will be led and moderated by Noa Tishbi - a writer, actress and film producer in Los Angeles, who will talk, among other things, about the importance of technology in human development and the education of the future generation.

Uri Ben-Ari, President and Founder of the Athena Foundation, will review the foundation's vision and activities in the field of teaching in general, and in the field of special education in particular.

The Athena Foundation, established in 2006, has to date distributed digital toolboxes to 28,000 teachers and kindergarten teachers in 172 local authorities across the country, who collectively teach around 650,000 students. This figure includes over 9,000 special education teachers, who teach about 72,000 students.

Each digital toolbox provided to the teacher includes a laptop or iPad (according to the various programs), 120 hours of instruction, a printer, a classroom projector, wireless internet for the classroom and more. The advanced technology enables the quality of teaching and learning to improve. In the field of special education these tools also serve to improve communication with the students.

"During the Corona epidemic, the Athena Foundation continued its activities and distributed digital toolboxes to other teachers. The foundation's activities contributed greatly to the possibility of distance learning and continuing the school year despite the severe...