“Desert from Within” appeals to a diverse audience and takes place in the format of a three-day festival that offers an experiential meeting that includes events, workshops, tours and markets that will take place at a variety of sites and will be led by leading researchers and prominent experts.
The connection between the parties behind the event is one of the goals we set for establishing this event. The organizing partners include Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and sponsored by the School of Sustainability and Climate Change,
East Negev Region, Mirage Foundation Israel, Sde Boker Field School, Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, Ramat Negev Regional Council, Mitzpe Ramon Local Council, Yeruham Local Council, the Nature and Parks Authority, Mizpe-Ramon Experience site, Desert Knowledge Interface and more.
We believe that the event in its proposed format will support the economic and social development of the Negev. We believe that promoting and sharing multidisciplinary knowledge related to the Negev in particular and the desert in general can help make life in the Negev accessible and promote use of this knowledge in other areas.
Global warming and climate change are a problem facing us. These changes are expected to accelerate the desertification process and have far-reaching effects on human life and the entire ecosystem. Due to Israel’s geographical location, it is particularly sensitive to these effects.
Life in the Negev is in the shadow of a constant struggle with drought, uncertainty, floods and a wide temperature range. Residents of the Negev throughout history have developed methods and technologies to deal with the uncertainty and climatic difficulty and much can be learned from this and applied to other non-arid areas as well.