Chelsea Clinton Convenes Clinton Global Initiative Partners in Tel Aviv to Share Lessons in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Impact

Leaders Explore Examples of How Technology and Partnerships Have Helped Them Expand Their Work

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – Dr. Chelsea Clinton recently convened leaders in business, technology, and civil society in Tel Aviv, Israel to engage with new and existing Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitment-makers, and forge potential partnerships ahead of the Clinton Global Initiative 2023 Meeting in September. Together with the Aviram Foundation and Reichman University, CGI engaged with innovative leaders to focus on the entrepreneur ecosystem – how to create a fast-paced dynamic where learning and lessons, people and talent, and resources are able to flow freely to build new approaches and take action together.

Dr. Clinton alongside Luke Schiel, Chief Program and Strategy Officer; and Franciscka Lucien, Director of CGI’s Health Equity Pillar; met with several local organizations and existing CGI partners to hear about their work, explore how partnerships can help advance impact, and leverage what commitment-makers have learned to inform future Commitments to Action – specific, measurable programs that address a pressing global challenge – ahead of the CGI 2023 Meeting. More than 3,800 Commitments to Action have been launched through CGI since its inception in 2005, making a difference in the lives of more than 435 million people in over 180 countries.

“Today, we are joined by so many of you who are working on critical issues across tech, public health, and entrepreneurship, and I’m eager to hear from you to see how we can collaborate, to help each other in our shared missions to make the world a better, safer, and more equitable place. And to see how we can do even more together,” Dr. Clinton said.

During a discussion with CGI commitment-maker the Center for Mind Body Medicine (CMBM), representatives and regional leaders from CMBM recapped its 2022 Commitment to Action, in partnership with the World Association for Positive and Transcultural Psychotherapy (WAPP) and the Ukrainian Psychoanalytical Union, to deploy CMBM’s model for trauma healing and resilience to address the impacts of the war in Ukraine.

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to large-scale displacement and violence, creating an acute need for mental health support in a population experiencing widespread trauma. To address this need, CMBM and its partners are committed to train more than 1,000 Ukrainian community leaders in CMBM’s comprehensive program of self-care, group support, and community building. Following the initial cohorts, CMBM seeks to raise $10 million to fully train between 2,000-3,000 Ukrainians over the course of five years. 

In 2007, CMBM’s commitment also addressed youth trauma in Gaza and Palestinian territories by training gifted counselors, teachers, and administrators on CMBM’s trauma-response model In partnership with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, CMBM reportedly provided stress-management, self-care, self-expression, and mind-body medicine to more than 100,000 people through collaborations with over 250 organizations in the Gaza Strip over a seven-year period.

Later in the day, Dr. Clinton attended a private luncheon with local entrepreneurs hosted by 2022 commitment-makers OurCrowd, followed by a moderated Town Hall panel featuring CGI Greenhouse participant: Saar Safra, CEO and Co-Founder of Beewise; and CGI commitment-maker Yotam Polizer, CEO of IsraAid to hear about their perspectives on innovation and entrepreneurship in driving social impact and the power of partnerships.

“It’s all about partnerships, and preferably, we always look for partnerships both on the public sector and the government level and also on the private sector,” Polizer said. “So I think CGI, from my experience, has been the best, convenient kind of partnership in getting all the different representatives together from prime minister, president, to community leaders to grassroots.”

CGI’s partnership with IsraAid began back in 2017 after Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Through collaborating with CGI, Polizar said they were able to bring off-grid water filtration solutions from Israel to the Caribbean, providing sustainable filtration in an area lacking electricity. This relationship made it possible to scale this process and replicate it in many other communities. 

“So I think that’s part of the power of CGI – taking great ideas, great initiatives and helping them scale,” Polizer added.

While in Israel, Dr. Clinton accepted an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where she delivered the keynote speech at the honorary doctorate ceremony. During her remarks, she brought attention to pressing global challenges like climate change, attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, health inequity for marginalized communities and more – and the urgent need for science, research, and evidence to guide us toward solutions. 

“I am proud to be receiving this honorary degree from an institution that understands the importance of forging a connection between the questions we ask, the research we conduct, what we teach our students, and that we hopefully empower our students to go out and do in the world,” Dr. Clinton said.

Dr. Clinton’s work in Tel Aviv was part of a week of action involving President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton bringing leaders together for five convenings across four continents to drive action on pressing global challenges through the Clinton Global Initiative. This includes events in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa to mobilize leaders to build partnerships and inspire action on a wide range of issues, including climate resilience, early childhood development, maternal health, food security, education, gender equity, and more.  

Featured participants included: Rhonda Adessky, Center for Mind Body Medicine; Michael Ben Aharon, ZzappMalaria; David Arison, The Doing Good Model, Arison Investments & The Ted Arison Family Foundation; Eran Atlas, Dreamed; Jamel Abdel Atti, Center for Mind Body Medicine; Maayan Avimeir, Aviram Foundation; Rabbi Dina Brawer, World Jewish Relief; Natalie Byrne, Blank Space; Itsik Francis, Morris Laster, OurCrowd; Naftali Halberstadt, Center for Mind Body Medicine; Forsan Hussein, Zaitoun Ventures & Hasoub Angels; Muthanna Khriesat, Questscope; Tal Kreisler, NoTraffic; Devora Mason, Jerusalem Venture Partners; Jon Medved, OurCrowd; Marius Nacht, Marius Nacht Ventures; Yifat Oron, Blackstone; Yotam Polizer, IsraAID; Uriel Reichman; Reichman University; Saar Safra, Beewise; Dina Shalev, Ladaat; Ofra Strauss, Strauss Group; Oded Tsin, OrCam; Ronit Zimmer, Project Rozana; among several innovative leaders from the region.