Tikkun Olam Makers and U.S. Embassy in Israel launch space to foster innovation for those with disabilities
Tikkun Olam Makers and U.S. Embassy in Israel launch space to foster innovation for those with disabilities
The initiative also aims to create a prosperous local ecosystem of innovation by integrating healthcare organizations, universities, and schools into the program.
Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) and the U.S. Embassy in Israel are launching a new space at the Embassy’s cultural center in Jerusalem for people with disabilities. The America Hub Israel (AHI) is located in the AHI building and includes 3D printers and additional tools and technologies, and will soon lead community activities there to develop and distribute open-source solutions for people with disabilities.
As part of this partnership, TOM helped AHI build its new maker space, providing advice on tools, technologies, and setup. The space will also serve as the hub for the program that will harness technology, innovation, and community to help solve the unmet needs of people living with disabilities in the Jerusalem area.
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew speaking at the launch event of the renovated America Hub Israel space in Jerusalem
(Photo: David Azagury, U.S. Embassy Israel)
The America Hub Israel program will recruit multidisciplinary development teams comprised of professionals from the technology and health sectors. These teams will work with those with disabilities to co-create affordable and accessible solutions. The teams will meet at the AHI maker space to develop working prototypes using TOM’s frugal innovation approach. The initiative also aims to create a prosperous local ecosystem of innovation by integrating healthcare organizations, universities, and schools into the program.
“The U.S. has hundreds of American Spaces around the world that serve as platforms for America’s cultural and educational outreach,” said Gidi Grinstein, Founder and president of TOM. “With the U.S. Embassy’s America Hub Israel in Jerusalem, TOM is designing and piloting a model program that may be adapted by U.S. Embassies and American Spaces around the world to help vulnerable populations and particularly people living with disabilities. We will document the program in a 'playbook' so that other embassies can run similar programs, using their already existing infrastructure.”
AHI is an educational and cultural center based in Jerusalem operating under the Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy in Israel. The program will serve as a model that U.S. Embassies and American Spaces worldwide may adopt. Roy Goldenberg, Director of TOM Israel, added: “Together with AHI, our program will inspire and support a vibrant community in Jerusalem that uses innovation in design to change lives.”
TOM was founded in Israel in 2014 and has operated in dozens of countries to create and distribute open-source solutions for the neglected needs of vulnerable populations, with a particular focus on the needs of people who are living with disabilities. To date, TOM has more than 1,000 solutions in different phases of development, including dozens that have been developed for wounded civilians and soldiers.
“It was a pleasure to attend the launch of America Hub Israel, @usembassyjlm's renovated public space in JLM,” U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew said via X. “In these difficult days, more than ever, it is a place to find solutions through people-to-people engagement across diverse communities. Featuring innovative new tech, the Hub connects future leaders with U.S. experts and values, providing a safe space to identify creative solutions to shared challenges.”
