Friedrich Naumann Foundation - Jerusalem

05/08/2026

Great ideas are rarely created in isolation—they emerge through collaboration.

Our Summer Design Academy in Blankenese was only possible because an extraordinary group of partners from academia, education, civil society, politics and the local community came together around a shared vision.

A special thank you goes to Yair Engel (Seminar Kibbutzim, Israel) and Pastor Frank Engelbrecht (Blankenese Church Community), whose vision, commitment and perseverance were the driving force behind this remarkable initiative from the very beginning. Their idea finally became an inspiring international collaboration thanks to the dedication of many more committed partners.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Prof. Wolfgang Willkomm (HafenCity University Hamburg), Prof. Wolf Kühr (Academy of Fashion and Design Hamburg), Sawsan Masarwa (Attili Multidisciplinary High School, Tira), Maren Kemmer (GemeindeAkademie Blankenese), Rosario Then de Lammerskoetter (Zukunftsforum Blankenese e.V.), Ingo Eggers at the Markthaus Blankenese, and everyone who contributed their expertise, creativity and enthusiasm throughout the week.

We are equally grateful to the many residents of Blankenese who joined our workshops, shared their experiences and ideas, and helped our students better understand the needs and wishes of the local community. Their openness reminded us that meaningful urban design begins by listening.

This Summer Design Academy showed that best ideas emerge when diverse perspectives come together around a shared purpose.

Thank you to everyone who believed in this project and helped turn an idea into an unforgettable experience. We hope this is only the beginning of many more collaborations to come.

04/08/2026

One week in Amman.
Many cultures.
One powerful question:
How can connection become action? 🌍✨
At our recent international seminar in Jordan, “Staying Connected – The Power of Networks,” our Israeli Arab participant Nivin 🇮🇱 joined people from different countries, cultures, and professional fields to explore how meaningful relationships can strengthen liberal cooperation. 🤝
She encountered what she describes as a rare human mosaic: people with different perspectives and experiences, each carrying an entire world within them. 🧩💬
Her greatest insight?
Liberalism takes on a different meaning and color in every culture. It is not an abstract idea imposed from outside, but something rooted in communities, identities, and lived realities. 🌱 Yet at its heart lies the same courage: making room for others without giving up who we are.
The seminar also raised a question that reaches far beyond Amman: how can diverse expertise, from startups and public policy to environmental science, be transformed into practical, scalable cooperation? 💡🌐
Because meaningful networks are not measured by how many people are connected, but by what they create together. 🤝🌱
As the first in a new series of traveling IAF seminars, this gathering marked not only a continuation of international liberal exchange, but the beginning of new connections, ideas, and possibilities. 🚀✨

30/07/2026

Recap of thefinal presentations of our Summer Design Academy in Blankenese, Hamburg.

The final days of our Summer Design Academy in Hamburg beautifully reflected everything the project stood for.

On the evening before the final presentations, students, professors, local residents and project partners came together for a joyful community celebration with live music, inspiring conversations and delicious food lovingly prepared by our Palestinian participants from Israel. It was an evening of openness and genuine exchange across cultures and generations.

The following day, it was time for our student teams to present their ideas for reimagining the future of Blankenese's market square to local residents, project partners and invited guests.

Their presentations combined design concepts, sketches and scale models with hands-on prototypes they had created themselves using fabric, paint, paper and other simple materials. In this way, they brought their ideas to life and made it easy for everyone to imagine how relatively small interventions—such as shaded seating areas, spaces for children and older generations to play together, community notice boards, a wish tree, water features, and interactive meeting places—could transform an underused public square into a vibrant place of encounter.

Together, we demonstrated that small ideas, developed through dialogue and cooperation, can indeed inspire meaningful change.



Photo credit: Anne CK, Yair Engel

23/07/2026

During our Summer Design Academy last week in Blankenese, Hamburg, our students were introduced to the innovative concept of Urban Acupuncture. This approach is based on the idea that creating positive change in cities does not always require large-scale interventions. Often, small but thoughtful changes can have a lasting impact on the life of a neighborhood.

Just as small interventions can transform a public square, they can also strengthen communities. Public spaces that invite people to meet, exchange ideas and participate contribute not only to better cities, but also to more open and resilient societies.

In the end, the quality of a city is measured not only by the buildings it contains, but by the quality of the relationships it enables.

Throughout the Summer Design Academy, students from Israel, Germany and other countries explored together how relatively small interventions—such as providing shade and rain protection, creating seating areas, and designing spaces for play and interaction across generations—can draw people into an underused public square and encourage community life.

Working together on a shared challenge also gave the students a valuable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of one another's lives, perspectives and experiences. Beyond developing ideas for a public space, they built relationships across cultures and borders—an experience that is more important than ever in today's world.

21/07/2026

Last week, we experienced an inspiring and truly meaningful journey.
We brought Jewish and Arab design, architecture and urban planning students from Israel to Hamburg, where they joined their counterparts from Germany and around the world to collaborate on a shared challenge: reimagining the future of Blankenese's market square.

This international Summer Design Academy explored how public spaces can respond to the challenges of our time. How can they become places that invite people to meet, exchange ideas, and strengthen community?

For us, this project is about much more than urban design. Just like open and free societies, well-designed public spaces create the conditions that enable people and communities to thrive. They encourage participation, dialogue, and a sense of belonging.

Curious to learn more about our multilateral project and the ideas our students developed? Stay tuned for more updates!

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful partners: Kibbutzim College, Attili Multidisciplinary High School , HafenCity University Hamburg, the Academy of Fashion and Design Hamburg, and the Blankenese Church Community for making this collaboration possible.

09/07/2026

A key is a small object. But today, it carries a big message:
Continuity, trust, and a shared commitment to freedom. 🗝️

We are delighted to welcome Martin Kothé as our new Director of FNF Jerusalem Office.

As Jörg Dehnert, our Regional Director for MENA and Interim Director in Jerusalem, symbolically hands over the keys to the office, we are reminded that leadership is not only about opening doors — it is also about keeping them open for dialogue, cooperation, and new ideas. 🤝

For over 40 years, FNF Jerusalem has brought together Israeli and Palestinian voices, civil society partners, thinkers, activists, entrepreneurs, and friends of freedom from Germany and the region.

We believe that societies become stronger when people can speak freely, cooperate across divides, take responsibility, and live with dignity under the rule of law. 🕊

Thank you, Jörg, for your support and dedication during this transition.
Welcome, Martin. We look forward to this new chapter — together with our partners and everyone who believes that freedom is built through courage, responsibility, and dialogue. 💙

02/07/2026

FNF Jerusalem is hiring! 📣

We’re looking for a Finance/Admin Assistant to join our team in Jerusalem.

If you’re organized, detail-oriented, experienced in finance/admin work, we’d love to hear from you. 💼

📍 Location: Jerusalem
🗓 Deadline: 15 July 2026
📩 More details here:

Job Announcement: Project Manager. For our Israeli-Palestinian team in Jerusalem, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation is seeking a Project Manager to cover a maternity leave position (Minimum 6 months).

24/06/2026

How do we keep dialogue alive in times of war, polarization, and uncertainty?

Recently, members of our ME 2.0 Palestinian-Israeli Young Business Leaders Forum gathered in Jerusalem to reflect on the personal and professional challenges of the past months and to discuss the present and future of peace building.

We were privileged to hear from three outstanding practitioners working on the front lines of dialogue and peace building: Fayez Hussaini, Vice Chairman of T2P, Hussam Moussa, Founder of Frisbee on the Seam فريسبي ع التماس פריזבי על התפר , and Rabea Zioud, CEO of MEET - Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow. Their honest reflections on the challenges, dilemmas, and opportunities facing peace builders today sparked a thoughtful and inspiring discussion.

Together, we reflected on the challenges of sustaining dialogue, trust, and cooperation in the post-October 7 reality. Countering demonization and dehumanization requires resilience, courage, and a commitment to human dignity, even when compromise seems out of reach.

A special thank you to our wonderful forum members for their openness, empathy, and commitment to staying engaged even through difficult times. Your resilience, willingness to listen, and determination to seek solutions continue to demonstrate why spaces like this matter.

Even in difficult times, relationships and cooperation remain the foundation for a shared future.

15/06/2026

Can AI amplify human voices without replacing them? Can it foster dialogue rather than deepen division? And how can we ensure that innovation serves humanity rather than the other way around?

These were some of the questions we explored last Friday at Women Leading Change Through AI & Innovation, a joint event by Women Champions for Change and FNF Jerusalem at the beautiful Jewish-Arab cultural center Feel Beit in Jerusalem.

Together with Tal Harary (Generative AI for Good - generativeaiforgood.com), Zada Haj (Future Holders - Future Holders), and Paula Kweskin (The 49% - the49percent.org), we discussed how AI is transforming storytelling, education, entrepreneurship, and social impact—and where its opportunities, risks, and ethical dilemmas lie.

Thank you to our inspiring speakers and engaged participants for a thoughtful conversation about technology, responsibility, and the future we want to build together.

19/05/2026

🎂 Today, we celebrate our 68th birthday.
68 years of empowering people.
68 years of standing up for freedom.
68 years of defending liberal democracy.
68 years of believing that every individual deserves dignity, rights, and a voice.

Since 1958, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom has worked to advance liberalism, in Germany and around the world, by promoting freedom, human rights, the rule of law, democracy, and free markets. 🌍

Through education, scholarships, training programs, and dialogue, we empower people to speak up, get involved, and help shape their societies.

Because freedom is never guaranteed.
It needs courage.
It needs responsibility.
It needs all of us.
Thank you for standing with us, and for supporting freedom every day. 🕊️