The Joint Pittsburgh, Karmiel and Misgav "Partnership 2000" Steering Committee operating in cooperation with the Jewish Agency concluded its 3-day Spring Session on Wednesday, May 27, 2010. During the various deliberations, the committee considered the program's project budget and activities scheduled for 2010-2011.

Skip Grinberg, the Partnership's co-chairman, Marlene Silverman, Ronna Harris, Cindy Goodman-Leib, Essie Garfinkel, Marcie Lang & Deb Taylor represented the Pittsburgh Jewish Community and its UJF.
Hana Kovel and Eti Levi, the managing directors of the respective municipalities, Anat Sharvit, regional Jewish Agency partnership manager and additional members of the Israeli Steering Committee, represented the Israeli communities. Adi Eldar and Ron Shani, the mayors of Karmiel and Misgav, respectively, participated in a portion of the discussions and expressed their fullest appreciation to the members of the Steering Committee for their highly admirable and important efforts on the region's behalf.

The committee in its approval of an operating budget of $480,000 for projects scheduled for implementation during 2010-2011 decided to promote projects related to a wide variety of activities. These included youth activities, branding the region as a tourism destination and continued development of the Partnership 2000 Cycling/Hiking Trail, the creation of a Career Center in Karmiel as well as business development incubators, a Youth Center in Misgav and further development and training of volunteers, etc.  
 

The visiting committee members met with pupils participating in cycling activities along the P2K Trail and young people who are preparing for participation in the partnership's "Teen Leadership -Diller" program.

The committee also conducted a study tour to learn more about the activities conducted in the fields of art and education by our neighboring partnership in the Western Galilee region.
The group also toured the Terdion Industrial Park in Misgav where they met with a young entrepreneur from the XorcomCo., a hi-tech start-up and toured the "Tadbik" Auto Parts Co. factory. 

Earlier in the week, on May 23, a 50-member student delegation visited the region as part of the "Birthright-Taglit" program. The students assisted in painting homes in the Karmiel's Western Neighborhood and planted trees in the city's "Ofek" Forest.

In spite of the economic difficulties facing the United States and thanks to the strong bond between the communities, approximately 250 visitors from the Greater Pittsburgh Area are expected to visit the region during the coming activity year, among them are a  CIT delegation in July (50 CITs), a Youth Leadership delegation (20 participants), and a delegation of cyclists scheduled for March 2011, etc.  

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