VIVA SARAH PRESS

$100 million. That’s about how much the Beresheet spacecraft mission cost to put Israel in Lunar Orbit. It’s also the sum an international consortium is set to invest in Israeli food tech and agritech initiatives, in Kiryat Shmona. What else can you do with $100 million? A whole lot. Obviously. And when we’re talking about innovation – and a country of innovators – there are oodles of wild ideas just waiting to be converted into global solutions via collaboration or investmen

Google’s new report on what makes the perfect manager will get everyone who has had a great boss – or a terrible one – nodding or shaking her head. Unsurprisingly, the 10-year study shows that managers with top emotional-intelligence skills make for a better boss than those with superior technical skill. I say ‘unsurprisingly’ because today’s educational curriculum is all about focusing on EQ soft skills – as a way to ensure the next generation for education and career succes

Educational clowning is still making its mark in Israel. Of the thousands of schools in the country today, 11 have taken part in piloting educational clowns in schools. So, how did a Chinese documentary film crew even know the initiative to create a more joyful, colorful and happier school setting is underway? Backtrack to May 15. An email arrived in my inbox from Ryanne Hsu, a Hong Kong-based content coordinator for Childhood Elsewhere, a six-part documentary series on educa

Learning from failures is important. Being able to fail, to really embrace a failure, is even more significant if the experience is to be learned. I preach it to my kids. I tell it to myself. Oshi, my alter ego, breathes this motto every moment. I envy her joy of failing; her ability to be so unsuccessful at so many different undertakings. Oshi, an educational clown, is all about bringing pleasure to people she meets. But in order to create this joy she usually needs to fail.

The Passover holiday break ended... so, Oshi, went back to school for educational clowning. First day back after so much family time also meant the pupils felt somewhat homesick. At the elementary school where Oshi works, children from grades one through six used the day to create dozens of imaginary pains and aches. They congregated in the secretary’s office every recess break. Oshi came to hear about the amazing, creative and fantastic ailments. She wanted to help make the

“You’re so lucky. You get to do what you love,” a mother from my son’s class recently told me. We were sitting on beach chairs, finishing off our picnic lunch. I sat in my chair. I listened to what she had to say. “Yes, I am lucky,” I agreed. “It took me a long time to get here, but I’m here.” Here is being an independent/freelancer. Here is being a journalist, educational clown, speaker and content writer/editor. Here is doing more than one type of work. Being creative in wh

This week, I made my debut as a speaker with the JNF USA. I spoke about women, innovation, business and Israeli innovation at the 2019 Annual Women For Israel Luncheon in Boca Raton, Florida. The audience was knowledgeable, well-versed in Israel, and full of smart and successful women. When I was researching and writing the talk, I made sure to bring stories with great impact. Fortunately, Israel is brimming with such stories. I love giving these talks. I love the interaction

I love giving talks. I love giving talks about Israel. Specifically, about modern day Israel. And, never about politics! I gives talks about contemporary Israel because I feel it is important to share these stories with as many people as possible. I speak about the culture of creativity and innovation here, in Israel. This country’s amazing achievements belie its size. How does an idea become a global solution? I have oodles of examples of the chutzpah (in the best sense of t