INVISIBLE | Session 23 | Israel | Yaacov Hecht, Education Cities & Democratic School of Hadera

Hecht (married and father of 4 is an internationally distinguished leader and visionary in innovative education. He is also a sought after speaker and consultant, and plays an essential role in the movement for changing education in Israel and around the world. In 1 987 Yaacov Hecht fulfilled the promise he gave himself as a dyslectic problematic schoolchild and founded the Democratic School in Hadera, Israel the first school in the world to be called a democratic school In 1993 he initiated IDEC International Democratic Education Conference which convenes every year in a different continent. IDEC has facilitated the establishment of hundreds of innovative democratic schools around the globe, 30 of them in Israel. In 19 96, after the assassination of Israel s prime minister, following the request for in-depth educational programs that deal with democracy Yaacov Hecht founded IDE the Institute for Democratic Education that worked on integrating democratic and innovative processes in Israeli public schools. Within IDE, Hecht created a groundbreaking academic faculty for teachers training in the Kibuzim college, the biggest academic institute for teachers in Israel. In addition, Yaacov built in cooperation between IDE and Tel Aviv University, a graduate program for school principals. He also created with the ministry of education the Pioneer" program for promoting educational leadership amongst young educators. His book "Democratic Education A Beginning of a Story", which has been translated into English, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Korean, is a worldwide source of inspiration for groundbreaking educators and entrepreneurs. In 2 010 he found ed Education Cities the Art of Collaborations that weaves and maintain s municipal collaborations that aim to turn the city into one big school It also promotes collaborations and networking in the classroom, in the school, in the city, in the state, and in the world. WIRED magazine has chosen Education Cities' MOOC learning model (How2MOOC) to one of the leading trends in 2015. In January 2017 Education Cities was chosen to one of the 10 leading innovations in the world, by HundrED the Finish initiative for globally promoting educational innovation. Yaacov has served as an advisor to 6 Ministers of Education in Israel , in the past and at present, as an expert in creating connections and interfacing between the state and alternative education. He regards the preparing and directing of the educational system towards the future as his main mission today.