The Startup School program provides youth from diverse communities with entrepreneurship expertise and soft skills for facing the challenging reality brought forth by Covid and to prepare for the new employment world.
How did Covid affect our youth?
During Covid teenagers were forced to adjust themselves to a new reality of lockdowns and isolation and to unusual learning conditions of remote learning, all of a sudden and under stress.
This new reality imposes difficulties in a period that is emotionally challenging as is and as a result we see an increase in phenomena such as despair, depression, anxiety and loneliness with weakening social capabilities.
Even before Covid, Israel is one of the OECD countries with the most inequality in students’ achievements (Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, 2019). The gaps are only enhanced by Covid and make it difficult for teenagers from underrepresented communities to keep up.
How do we help them cope?
Our Startup School enables youth from the periphery to actualize their potential and get an equal opportunity. We believe that all teenagers in Israel, regardless of ethnicity, religion or place of residence - deserve an equal chance to take part in the Startup Nation.
The program brings the Startup Nation’s entrepreneurial culture into the classrooms and bridges existing gaps using out of the box thinking skills, creativity and adaptivity that are much needed for them to succeed in the real world.
What do students get in the program?
The program exposes students to the world of entrepreneurship and high-tech alongside the opportunities of the new world and emphasises the importance of STEM education to integrate into the high-tech industry, all in purpose of affecting teenagers\' expectations and ambitions for future employment.
The program’s impact
500 teenagers from Jaffa, South Tel-Aviv, Haifa and East Jerusalem have already participated in Startup School workshops this school year.
The program has been running throughout the Covid pandemic in a hybrid format, tailor-made to fit various types of communities and in aim to expose youth to quality content and to assist them in building mental resilience and a sense of belonging especially during these challenging times.
Why Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the “superpower” of the 21st century and leads to personal, community and economic empowerment and long-term impact.
The Z generation are looking for new ways for self-fulfilment and entrepreneurship is one of the main ways to realise the potential, to express hidden talents and to increase self assurance and motivation.
In order to enable diversity, equity and inclusion in the Startup Nation we must invest in the entrepreneurs of the future and provide them with an equal opportunity to be exposed to these worlds.
Help us double our impact!
Support us in reaching an additional 500 high school students this year!
This is a matching campaign- each donation you make will be doubled by our generous partners.
Your donation will help create equal opportunity in education, decrease gaps and enable us to reach more teenagers from the periphery!
Who are we?
PresenTense is a leading impact organisation, providing access to entrepreneurship and new world practices to underrepresented communities, thus increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in Startup Nation.
