Asylum seekers and refugees trained as software developers continue to struggle to find opportunities to break into the job market and advance their careers, despite their skills and qualifications. To create equal opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees living in Israel, we must address the barriers they face, such as language difficulties, unrecognized foreign credentials, limited professional networks, and hiring biases. At the   African Refugee Development Center  (

by Yeshewa Michael Deadly ethnic conflict. Kidnapped civilians. Drone strikes. Crackdown on political dissent. Sounds familiar? But this is not a description of the news in Israel; Israelis are not alone in witnessing the fabric of their lives torn apart. All this is happening right now in the Amhara region in Ethiopia – and Ethiopian asylum seekers currently in Israel are fleeing a looming civil war and spiraling humanitarian conflict. They must be given legal protection. Am

Last week, ARDC Board-Member & asylum seeker in Israel, Solomon Gebremariam, spoke to a group of Fintech professionals in Tel Aviv about his experiences as an asylum seeker in Israel and his journey here. Thank you to the Jewish Federation of New York for organising this gathering. Read some of his story below: "Why Israel?" is often the question I get from people when I talk about my own experience as an asylum seeker in Israel. Why did I choose Israel over European countrie

Earlier this week in the offices of WeWork, the ARDC & 3030 held its second breakfast where 30 talented women of the asylum-seeking community met with 30 leading women of the professional community of Tel Aviv. There were activists, CEOs, students, programmers, masters students, designers, leaders, and more. The breakfast serves as a beacon of hope for the refugee population in Israel and, importantly, a reminder that being a refugee does not define you; it is a live status o

Senseless violence in the military state of Sudan left hundreds dead and millions more around the world alerted to the scramble for political dominance in the region. On Saturday, leaders from both sides of the conflict in the country - the military officers and the pro-democratic opposition - hashed out a power-sharing agreement that will hopefully stop the bleeding in Sudan, and serve as a small step forward in the peace process. Under the power-sharing agreement, democrati

Congratulations to our beloved friend Daniel Mulue, graduate of the ARDC GED Courses, and the first asylum seeker in Israel to receive a GED diploma! Daniel has succeeded in doing well in all 4 exams, which is equivalent to a full high school diploma and opens the door to many academic opportunities. For Daniel, along with many others, completing the GED is a necessary step in personal, educational and professional development. After attending ARDC GED Courses, and studying

Yesterday, in collaboration with 1:1 Centre, we hosted an Art-Making Workshop in order to explore the theme of Home and to open the Refugee Day Festivities. Led by our wonderful and talented resident artist and Education Coordinator, Katherine Elise, together with Anastasiya Chernousand Afwerki Teame, people from all backgrounds came together to draw, share stories and create. Within a crowded room, with delicious Injera provided by our neighbour Akele Guzai cafe and music pl

Congratulations to the graduates of our second Hebrew for women course :) Acquiring language skills is necessary for all who wish to improve their access to opportunities, abilities and understanding. Yet we saw that women asylum seekers, a small and vulnerable group inside the marginalized community of asylum seekers, don't go to the existing Hebrew courses as much as we wished. When we tried to understand what prevents women from going to other Hebrew courses, one problem k

We are happy to share the first pictures from our new GED Language & Reasoning Through Arts course! One of the main difficulties asylum seekers face when they want to learn and develop is the absence of certification documents. It is almost impossible to get high school or university documents from Eritrea - the regime keeps them out of reach in order to prevent people from escaping. Others are unable to provide a certificate and proof of their education because they were for

The registration dates for Israeli institutions are closing soon - we remind all asylum seekers who are considering starting their higher education this year, and want to register for academic studies, to please contact us and we are happy to assist! We are here, and we will be happy to advise and help in every possible way - by contacting the different schools, searching funding options, consulting and informing about different options, preparing for academic studies, and mo