2026 Special Projects
Children Document Children is a flagship Horizon initiative that gives children and youth a direct way to document and interpret their own lived reality. This year, students in grades 10–11 from the Eshkol Regional Council created short films exploring childhood and adolescence before and after October 7.
Working in thematic groups, they addressed issues such as security, attitudes toward military service, daily life and movement across the region, and the experience of growing up in a community profoundly changed by war. One of the films won second prize in "The Wim van Leer Competition for High School Students" a Jerusalem Film Festival competition — an exceptional achievement given that 122 films were submitted.
The project culminated in a public event attended by Israel’s First Lady, Mrs. Michal Herzog. The students were hosted at Beit HaNasi, the President’s Residence, where Mrs. Herzog watched a shortened and edited version of the films they had created. The initiative is both expressive and strategic: it documents children’s perspectives in their own voices, creates materials that can inform future interventions, and reflects Horizon’s commitment to learning directly from children and young people. In 2026–2027, the project is expected to expand beyond the film track and include the theatre track as well.
Border Areas Initiative
The Regional Border Areas Initiative seeks to listen to residents, professionals and children in the north and south of Israel, through weekly visits to each region. Based on the knowledge gained we aimed at developing grass roots projects, foster solutions and suggest a practical action plan for improving social services in Israel's border regions. Thus we started the fall of 2025 weekly field visits and conversations in border areas, with attention to the needs, priorities, and wishes of residents across ages.
As a consequence of our work we a number of projects where already launched. A first of its kind community intervention project has started in Kibbutz Hanita with funding secured for one year of work. A mentoring project for youth at risk at the reginal council of Eshkol has started with some 35 adolescents already receiving service with funding for at leat one year of work. An early childhood support project started in Bukkata (a Druze village in the northern Golan hights) with funding secured till the end of 2026.
We are still workin on various other grass roots projects as well as on helping innovative ideas and entrepreneurs in both regions.
The planned action framework is multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary. It addresses health, education, and welfare services, while also considering the roles of state systems, civil society, and the business sector. The initiative is intended to relate to both northern and southern border regions and to generate a clear plan that includes practical steps and a pathway toward implementation.
