Culture

For the first time ever, a major startup event in Israel will take place in an Arab city. Startup Weekend, which is sponsored by giants such as Google and Cisco, will give Arab-Israelis a chance to shine in a 54 hour hackathon in Nazareth.

The visually impaired may have been using phones adapted for them for years, but access to smartphones and more specifically apps, is still beyond reach. An Israeli company called Project Ray recently announced the development of a smartphone for the visually impaired, called the RAY.

British-Israeli artist Noam Edry has come up with a unique and extravagant art project that she hopes will bring Israelis and Arabs closer. Her instrument of choice: sunflower seeds. The artist has already begun her quest to encourage people from both sides to sit together, chew and spit a total of 10 tons of sunflower seeds.

Tmura is an Israeli Venture Fund that accepts employee stock options as a donation from early-stage startups. Following exits, the fund distributes the proceeds from its options to educational charities. In ten years, Tmura has already given approx. $6.3 million.

The new center, which is being built in the town of Yeruham by Negevco and Andres Kukawka, will provide technology outsourcing services for Israeli companies. Recruiting and training will start this November. 3.2 million NIS will be invested in the project over the next three years.

Sarine Zaken, an Israeli fashion student at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, grew unique patterns of bacteria and applied them to items she designed. By manipulating the communication between the bacteria, she is able to pre-define patterns, and then apply them as prints.

An Israeli tennis foundation puts the ball in the courts of Arab communities, fostering not only sports prowess but also leadership and cross-cultural friendships. So far, the Freddie Krivine Foundation has trained more than 6,000 young Arabs in tennis, encouraging some of them to become certified tennis coaches.

The Israeli Scratch program, part of the miLAB at IDC in Herzliya, teaches young students programming concepts and skills in multimedia communication. Users are taught to make and share their own videos, animations and games.

Graduates of the design academy presented creative solutions they developed for the community: a walker that encourages use, artfully designed rings that lead the visually impaired and more.

Good news for older workers looking for a job: New research conducted in Israel has determined that managers demonstrate their highest levels of professional vitality in their 50s. The researchers specifically examined the functionality of high-tech, engineering and infrastructure executives.

Israel Boxing Association aims to bring peace between Jews and Arabs through boxing. Jewish and Arab teens from the North of Israel train and compete together, and some even become friends.

Israel's most popular female singer Rita has released an album in Persian, as a tribute to her country of origin - Iran. "I'm combining Hebrew and Persian so much together and I am showing that it is possible," she says.

Tom Peled, an Israeli student who lost his father to cancer, plans a bike ride across ten states in the US to raise funds for cancer research. His project, named Bike for the Fight, has the support of Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Gigglers.tv is a new Israeli website that mashes up hundreds of ten-second clips featuring the best laughs from around the internet and allows people to upload their favorite sequences.

International pop star Justin Bieber has joined Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC for a new fundraising campaign named Music Makes it Better. The campaign, launched this week, is powered by the Israeli fundraising platform give2gether.