World Ort Union Meets in Geneva; Delegates from 20 Countries Present

Plans for the development and expansion of ORT’s worldwide network of vocational schools were approved here today by the more than 50 delegates from 20 countries who attended the two-day semi-annual executive meeting of the World ORT Union.

Calling on members to increase their efforts, Daniel Mayer, chairman of ORT’s executive committee, and president of the League of Rights of Man said that there was a need to provide “the most advanced technical training for Jewish youth in all the countries in which we operate. “

Noting that ORT had a “moral obligation to put our 84 years of experience in vocational training at the disposal of developing countries, ” Mr. Mayer cited reports of programs undertaken in cooperation with the United States, Israel and Swiss governments and with the International Labor Organization.

Dr. William Haber, president of the central board of the World ORT Union, noted that ORT, with its varied student bodies, was particularly well suited to experiment with new teaching methods. “Two years ago we pioneered a program of instruction in Europe, and now the first courses are being used in our schools in France and Israel,” he declared.

Evaluating ORT’s worldwide programs, Dr. Max Braude, executive director, reported to the delegates that the organizations network was taxed by the growth in long-term training for young persons in the three-four-and five-year schools and by the continuing need to refrain adults in short-term courses. “With the thousands of North African repatriates in France and the continuing movement of refugees in many parts of the world, ” he declared, “we must increase our fund-raising efforts by 20 percent this year to maintain our present level and standard of services. “