What is the Weitz Center?
The Weitz Center for Development Studies is a non-profit NGO engaged in training, and consulting on assets-based local development in Israel and in the developing world. The Center has long term cooperation with MASHAV, mainly in training activities.
The Weitz Center courses are interdisciplinary by nature, and participants are professionals in the fields of development, planning, agriculture, economy, sociology and more. More than 4,000 professionals from developing countries have taken part in the Weitz Center training programs, based on leveraging local assets for development and poverty alleviation. The Center focuses on empowering the participants to build on their assets for Local Economic Development. This approach originates in the understanding that even the poorest localities hold assets which can be drawn for the sustainable development of the place and that empowering the communities is a strong component in the process of development.
Additional areas of specialization include: Regional & local competitiveness; Integrative regional development and strategies for rural revitalization; Strategic Planning for Local Development; Sustainable services delivery systems; Urban upgrading and rehabilitation projects; Development projects formulation; Development of sustainable tourism; Entrepreneurship promotion and supportive municipal platforms; Sustainable environmental management; and Utilizing Clean Technologies for development.
The Center was established by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) in 1963 and enjoys a long-standing partnership with the Center for International Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV). The Weitz Center library has been designated as the World Bank depository library for Israel.
The Weitz Center office is located in Rehovot, Israel.
