Two AMIT students were among the top winners of a competitive nationwide essay contest to “Name their Hero.”
Talia Kadosh, an 11th grader at Ulpanat AMIT Or Akiva, and Akivah Amitai, a 12th grader at Yeshivat AMIT Nachshon in Mateh Yehuda, are the winners of Israel’s prestigious essay contest (along with Chaim Chaimovich, a 9th grader at the Kfar Yarok Agricultural school).
The contest is part of the Dan David Award, a global award for Outstanding Contribution to Mankind. Each year prizes are awarded to teenage participants who submit essays about their real-life superheroes and role models.
This year, 1,200 students participated in the competition. There were 23 winners selected. The three first-place winners included Talia Kadosh, 11th grader at Ulpanat AMIT Or Akiva, who chose “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, Amitai Shapira, 12th grader at Yeshivat AMIT Nachshon who chose “The Last Man Laughs,” by Ephraim Kishon, and Uri Haimovich, a 9th grader from the Ramat Hasharon Agricultural School.
“It was exciting and fascinating to read this year’s essay submissions by students from all over the country” said Sharon Regev, director of the competition from the Tel Aviv University for Youth.
Dr. Amnon Eldar, Director General of the AMIT Network, congratulated the winning students and said that even in the world of Zoom and WhatsApp, books are extremely important.
“We believe that in order to achieve goals in the future, of research and writing, it is essential to encourage reading and writing, and therefore, educating towards the love of books and reading, and towards creativity, are essential parts of developing independent learners.”
The Dan David Award was founded by Israeli businessman and internationally-renowned philanthropist Dan David, z”l. The prestigious international award, in collaboration with Tel Aviv University, is awarded to those who have demonstrated unique excellence and made a special contribution to humanity in science, the humanities and the arts. Winners are awarded $3 million.
Along with the award, is the youth essay competition, “Name Your Hero,” where high school students from throughout Israel submit essays about their heroes. The competition was held by Tel Aviv Youth University in collaboration with the Dan David Award.
