itrek Launches the itrek Academy and Hosts Inaugural Educational Seminars for Tour Educators and Israel Fellows

itrek Academy, a new educational program from itrek, hosted its first seminar for Israeli Tour Educators on February 7th & 8th  in Nof Ginosar on the shore of the sea of Galilee, in the north of Israel. We created itrek Academy to provide current and future Tour Educators the skills and engagement tools to present Israel’s richness and complexity in a nuanced manner. The goals for the itrek Academy are to create a learning community and certification program for Tour Educators. Setting the launch just ahead of the start of the first full trek season in two years is no coincidence. 

“Our vision for the itrek Academy is for it to become the industry setting standard for educational training and certification for Tour Educators in the ecosystem of Israel treks serving global influential leaders,” said Gil Galanos, itrek’s Co-Founder and CEO. “The itrek Academy will create a cadre of Tour Educators who understand the importance of recognizing the wide variety of lenses through which to view Israel and who will be equipped and empowered to lead meaningful conversations relevant to the unique audience of leaders.” 

We designed a multi-faceted agenda for the inaugural two-day seminar which was attended by thirty-seven Tour Educators. The learning environment was enriched through collaboration with renowned expert on Israel in the Middle East, retired Col. Miri Eisin, and prominent tour educator Joel Meyer. The sessions covered such topics as: knowing the target audience and how their identity, nationality, and religious background impacts one’s viewpoint, taking into account participants’ varying levels of understanding of Israel, and the importance of building trust with them in order to engage with Israel’s complexities. Seminar participants were introduced to tools for engagement, reflection, and dialogue and had the opportunity for peer-learning during interactive sessions; an important aspect of the curriculum design. 

Many participants commented that the seminar helped them rethink the language and terminology they use, “recognizing that while words may be used that we know, their context and meaning may be different within the mind of the participant than in our own,” said Uri

Feinberg, a veteran Tour Educator for whom the itrek Academy was his first experience with itrek. 

Over the course of the two days a community was born and participants left with a renewed sense of excitement for being a Tour Educator, refreshed in their guiding skills while also having added new ones to their toolbox. 

The seminar will have an impact not only on itrek’s trips but on the entire field of Israel trip providers for influential leaders as ninety percent of respondents in a post-seminar survey stated they will use what they learned and experienced at the itrek Academy when building future guiding engagements with itrek and other organizations. 

An activity during the Israel Fellows seminar

On March 2nd, the itrek Academy hosted a one-day seminar for Israel Fellows, graduate student peers who join treks throughout the season to provide a local perspective for participants. Forty Israel Fellows received invitations to the seminar after passing an application and interview process. The day was filled with programming to educate the Israel Fellows about itrek and the treks’ Leaders, as well as a workshop with Miri Eisin on the diverse nature of the student participants they will meet. The day also featured opportunities for the Israel Fellows to meet and interact with itrek Graduate Programs Managers and former Israel Fellows. 

Future plans for the itrek Academy include ongoing programming to keep Tour Educators up-to-date with the latest domestic and regional issues, as well as the annual multi-day seminars.