The Patrizio Paoletti Association was founded in 2005 as an independent branch of the global Patrizio Paoletti Foundation, which develops educational programs based on research in the field of neuroscience and psycho-pedagogy focused on the Pedagogy for the Third Millennium (PTM). This form of education seeks to provide tools for personal growth and flexible thinking and nurtures interpersonal skills, sensitivity to others and a holistic view. In doing so, it allows individuals to maximize their potential, improve their well-being and quality of life, as well as contribute to the formation of a tolerant, cohesive society.
In Israel, the Association focuses its activities on the flagship program – Youth of Light Project, a vocational-educational project for at-risk youth. The youth are involved in the development, production, and marketing of candles as part of a boutique candle-production workshop, thereby acquiring life and employment skills while enjoying enrichment activities. Through these activities, the project seeks to integrate the youth into educational frameworks and normative society.
The project’s team works in full cooperation with an employment coordinator and social worker, employed by Meitar (government-run multidisciplinary center for at-risk youth). The project’ holistic program combines three types of activities for youth:
1. Social business to produce candles / herbal farm
The youth work as part of the social business of making candles, or on Rishons' farm, and form the core of the project. They participate in all the aspects of the business—production, growth, packaging, marketing, and sales—and earn a fair wage from their labor. The protected work environment, as well as the various activities integrated into the work processes, enable the youth to develop their talents and acquire life skills and work values, as part of a learning process that does not take place in a regular school. The youth work, on average, 3 days a week in 4-hour shifts, accompanied and guided by the project coordinator.
2. Enrichment activities
The youth also enjoy enrichment activities, which take place once every two weeks. These activities inspire the youth, broaden their horizons, and introduce them to people who can serve as positive role models. Among the offerings are educational workshops on various topics, such as entrepreneurship, sales, communication, and design, delivered by experts in these fields or by the project team. The youth also participate in trips or educational tours, which further provide them with new, enriching experiences.
3. Mentorship
Each work shift at the candle factory begins with a short group conversation, in which the coordinator shares the goals and objectives of the shift. Personal conversations are accruing each month and are focused on the personal goals, needs and aspirations of the participant and his or her expectations from the team. The youth also receive daily training from the project team, who sets short-term goals for them and teaches them how to achieve them.
Each year, about 75 at-risk youth, aged 15-18, in each center participate in the project. They are defined as youth-at-risk according to the following parameters: Adolescents who have dropped out of formal education or are at risk of dropping out, have criminal records and/or use drugs and alcohol.
A large proportion of the adolescents come from a background of distress and neglect and suffer from severe attention and concentration problems, difficulties in emotional regulation, lack of motivation and low self-confidence. In the absence of positive role models and appropriate support, these youth are at increased risk of not experiencing normal development and descending to a path of unemployment, crime, violence, and delinquency.
Beyond the direct effect on the program participants, Youth of Light also impacts the wider circle of the family, i.e., the participants’ parents, siblings, and close friends. There is also an effect on the other participants in Meitar (about 70 youths per year), who witness firsthand the transformation their peers undergo and are inspired to follow suit.
The main goal of the Youth of Light project is to provide at-risk youth with life skills that will aid their integration into society as active and contributing citizens.
The impact of the project on the teens
According to the data from the project's 14 years of operations, 89% of the project's graduates reintegrate into society upon the completion of the project and finish at least 10 years of study, while some manage to complete all 12 years of study. Impressively, 70% of the project's graduates are currently in a significant work framework, which allows them to integrate into society as active, contributing members, and they do not burden the welfare services.
The impact of the project on society
The Youth of Light project is a flagship project for a social business for at-risk youth and a successful model of cooperation with local authorities. In recent years, many organizations have come to visit and learn from us. Among them were representatives of educational staff, managers of social businesses, teams of at-risk projects, social work students, government and local authority representatives, delegations from abroad, social funds and more. In 2015, the Youth of Light project received a letter of appreciation from the President of Israel, in which he praised the project’s positive impact on society.