Roni Strier Explained

Roni Strier
Birth Name:1952 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Lanús, Argentina
Nationality:Israeli
Known For:Social Work researcher, Educator, Social Activist
Occupation:University Professor

Roni Strier (born December 13, 1952, in Argentina) is a social work researcher, educator, and activist. He is an associate professor at the University of Haifa School of Social Work, founder and head of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Poverty and Social Exclusion.

Biography

Strier was born in Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. He moved to Israel in 1971 at the age of 18, after graduating from high school. He studied at a preparatory program for new immigrants at the University of Haifa. He completed a B.A. and an M.A. degrees in sociology and anthropology at the sociology and anthropology department, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Ph.D. in social work at the School of Social Work and Social Policy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His doctorate, supervised by Rivka Bar-Yosef and Avraham Doron, was a comparative study on the perceptions of poverty of clients and social workers in the public welfare services of Jerusalem. Strier completed a post-doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education at the National Center on Fathers and Families (NCOFF).[1] He has held various executive positions in the fields of education, community and welfare.

Public activities

Strier has held numerous professional, academic and public service positions. In 1972, a year after immigrating to Israel, he served as a centralizer of new immigrant students through Hillel International and the University of Haifa Dean of Students. He was also active in the "Yesh" movement, a Jewish-Arab student movement elected for the University of Haifa Students' union. In 1973, he continued his studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, joining the student commune "Beit HaBonim" in the Katamon 9 neighborhood. Members of the commune were active in working with children and in helping community residents organize a Mizrahi community movement called “Aholaim”. After serving as the commune's coordinator, Strier was named the Director of the University of Haifa's Dean of Students Social Engagement Unit. There he worked to establish other student communes in distressed communities in Jerusalem. At the same time, he was among the founders of "CAMPUS" (Hebrew acronym for "Student Group for Political Involvement"), an organization of Jewish and Arab students that was active on the University's campus for many years.

Strier was a graduate of the first class of "Chofen" Institute (Hebrew acronym for "Open Experimental Education Institute") at the Ministry of Education, which, under the leadership of the late Professor Moshe Caspi, sought to advance open and democratic education in Israel. After completing his studies at the Institute, he served as the principal of the "Lifta" open high school in Jerusalem, one of the first open democratic schools in Israel. Following this, he held numerous positions in the fields of social welfare, including management positions in neighborhood rehabilitation programs, the Israel Association of Community Centers, and others. As the Deputy Director of the New Israel Fund, Strier assisted in building the Fund's infrastructure for fundraising and support of civil society organizations, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Neve Shalom, aid centers for survivors of sexual assault, Adva Center and various peace organizations. He also co-founded “In the Spirit of Freedom,” a civil and human rights Film festival, with the Jerusalem Cinematheque.

Strier directed MASHOV (Hebrew acronym for "Engagement, Partnership, and Advocacy in the Community") (and "Meuravut" (Engagement), two non-profit organizations working to advance the development of social services and social rights of families living in poverty and exclusion in Israel. These organizations, in partnership with the Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services, and the Social Services Fund at the Bituah Leumi (National Insurance Institute), initiated and developed "Mercazei Otzma" (Centers for Assistance for Families). These innovative centers seek to assist families living in poverty through the principles of involvement, partnership and advancing social rights. Today there are 120 such centers in Israel, funded by the Ministry of Welfare.

In 2005, Strier joined the University of Haifa's School of Social Work, where he teaches community work, critical approaches in social work, poverty and exclusion, and research on fatherhood. He was a partner in the establishment of the Israel Forum for the Struggle against Poverty, led by Professor Yona Rosenfeld. Strier is a member of the Forum's leadership team, advancing public engagement activities, education and lobbying with and on behalf of people living in poverty. He serves as a senior consultant for various government offices in developing models for addressing issues of poverty and exclusion.

Academic activities

Academy-community activities

Haifa Partnership Program for Poverty Eradication

In 2005, Strier co-founded this initiative, together with the University of Haifa's School of Social Work, and the city of Haifa's Department of Welfare and Community Services. The program is based on the principle of partnership between academia and public welfare services, with and on behalf of people living in poverty. Active for over 13 years, this unique program assigns social work students, social works, and activists from distressed communities in Haifa side by side, in order to advance community projects, educational programs, and legislation to advance social justice and decrease poverty. As part of the program, community activist groups work to increase public awareness on the issue of poverty. The program has also convened national and international conferences on the subject of poverty.

University of Haifa's Flagship Program for the Struggle against Exclusion and Advancement of Solidarity

In 2011, Strier founded this program, and served as its academic supervisor until 2019. This university-wide initiative aims to promote academic involvement in the struggle for an inclusive and solidarity society in Israel.

The Council for Higher Education in Israel, through the Planning and Budget Committee, funds the program. It consists of courses in various departments (education, public management, social work, law, human services, community mental health) integrating community work alongside academic learning. In addition, the program advances community projects and implements academic courses for members of excluded communities in the fields of community, education and welfare (for example: a course for activists around urban rehabilitation processes, and a course for those promoting social rights for people with disabilities). The program also established an incubator for knowledge development, which has advanced research projects in the fields of exclusion and advancing solidarity.

Social Justice through an Interdisciplinary Lens

In 2012, Strier founded and developed this program, together with Dr. Dassi Postan-Itzik and Professor Corey Shdaimah of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The program is based on parallel and collaborative courses on social justice at the University of Haifa’s School of Social Work, and the Schools of Law and Nursing at the University of Maryland, attended by a diverse group of American and Israeli students. The program aims to advance the development of knowledge and raise awareness about social rights-based practice.

Awards

Publications

Notes and References

  1. https://www.researchgate.net/institution/University_of_Pennsylvania/department/National_Center_on_Fathers_and_Families/publications?nav=overview web page
  2. https://blogg.hioa.no/espanet/ ESPANET web site

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