- THE ARAVA INSTITUTE
- Location & Purpose
- Academics & Research
- Recognition
- Alumni Leadership
THE ARAVA INSTITUTE
Location & Purpose
Founded in 1996, the Arava Institute is situated 
on Kibbutz Ketura in Southern Israel, only a few miles from the borders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea. Students live, study and work in an open community environment, where daily interaction and shared responsibility is insured.
Rigorous academic coursework is supported by research facilities and staff, working on some of the Middle East's most urgent contemporary issues such as improved desert agronomy for food and medicinal resources, reversing the Dead Sea depletion, and the restoration of safe, healthful trans-boundary streams.
Current accommodations allow the Arava Institute to provide a strong educational experience for some 40 students each semester. The program's location is most beneficial for "hands-on" 
interaction with a variety of Middle Eastern environments including urban, suburban, desert, industrial, farmland and ocean locales. Coursework insures students receive experience across a broad spectrum of subjects, while working with today's advanced, and necessary, technologies.
To further build on its inclusive programming, the Institute offers full scholarships to talented Arab students of limited financial means. This programming insures tomorrow's Middle Eastern environmental leaders are truly representative of the region's diverse societies.
Most importantly, all students must actively participate in the Peace-building and Environmental Leadership Seminar(PELS) program. This program's successfully proven methodology trains students to respect - and teaches them to work across - the diverse cultural, historical, ethnic and religious backgrounds of their fellow students and the peoples of the Middle East. This practiced and active cooperation is the single most valuable tool toward restoring health and safety in the region.
Finally - unlike many educational and peace-building organizations and programs - The Arava Institute maintains an interactive alumni network, where former students can immediately link to each other to share relevant information and technical expertise.
