A Youth Organization Focusing on Applied Mathematics and Space Technologies

In middle school, students are at the age of self-exploration. They are going through a journey of dreams and struggles, of friendships and competition. In school, they experience a more structured and regulated environment that at times contradicts their interests. Therefore, many children in Israel supplement their formal studies with informal and after school activities, such as youth movements, enrichment workshops and extracurricular courses.

This dichotomy is now changing due to the pandemic. With lockdowns and distance learning, the traditional boundaries between school and home and between formal and informal, are dissolving. There is an emerging vacuum created by the school system, as it is unable to provide the full curriculum. As a result, students spend much time at home, while their parents worry about their learning loss and its implications for the future.

In thinking about how philanthropy could be of assistance, we turned to SpaceIL, a non-profit organization which, in 2019, launched the first Israeli spaceship to the moon. We jointly discussed an innovative idea that would engage middle school students, bringing them together in an informal setting with a focus on applied mathematics, using models and algorithms, in the context of a mission in space.

SpaceIL shared with us that they were now planning a second attempt to reach the moon. Their plan is for the new spaceship to circle the moon during a two-year period and to land with two unmanned probes for shorter periods. Sensors will broadcast scientific data back to earth, which will be used for research and education purposes. The idea is for this mission to be a collaborative effort of several countries, with the UAE (which recently launched a probe to Mars) as a potential partner.

In response to this challenge, SpaceIL is proposing to devote a four months to learn what is involved in and to plan an educational program that would be integrated with the space mission. The primary route would be to create a youth organization with participation of Israeli youth and their peers from other partner countries. An alternative approach could be to prepare educational content that would be used by existing youth organizations and movements. The learning stage would seek to address the following questions:

1. Are middle school students interested enough to join a program focused on applying mathematical models and algorithms to investigate challenges that occur in space?
2. Is an extracurricular setting, such as a youth organization, an appropriate vehicle for this program?
3. What are the advantages and constraints of a youth organization and what are the partnerships required in order to create and sustain its activity?
4. What is a realistic financial model and operational plan for a youth organization that would allow for scale and durability?

Following positive results of this learning and planning stage, if SpaceIL would then wish to create such an activity and secure its ongoing funding, the foundation may consider approving a one-time grant for initial development.

* The text presented above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation Board / Grant 416

2021 Update: the foundation turned to “8200 Alumni Association”. This nonprofit organization is one of the foundation’s veteran partners and they are now proposing to look into the possibility of creating a youth organization in the same spirit. In the coming four months, they are planning to address the following questions:
1) What would be the purpose of a “Youth 8200” organization and what would be the weight of applied mathematics within it?
2) Should such organization be a mainstream program geared to all middle school students in Israel, a prestigious program for excelling students, or an outreach activity for disadvantaged students?
3) Should the association collaborate with an operational player, which brings scale, capacity and expertise to such work?
4) What would be a viable financial model that would ensure long term and wide scale operation, even after a development grant from philanthropy ends?