Celebrating 130 years of ORT!

Past and present presidents of World ORT marked the official start of the organization’s 130th anniversary year by reaffirming the aims and values of its founders. (May 19, 2009) “The world has changed greatly since the founding of ORT, but in 2009 the need to deliver essential education and training is no less pressing than it was in 1880,” the document states. “Individuals and communities across the globe continue to rely on ORT for the skills and knowledge that will enable them to lead independent and purposeful lives. We can do no less than to respond earnestly to their needs.” Links and resources relating to events and plans for the 130th Anniversary year will be posted here regularly. You can also, visit our archives to see some of the materials we've been finding as we go through our past documents, photo albums, newsletters and magazines.
What does 'ORT' stand for? The name 'ORT' was coined from the acronym of the Russian words 'Obshestvo Remeslenofo zemledelcheskofo Truda' which means The Society for Trades and Agricultural Labor. The acronym has stuck for 130 years -- growing, evolving and changing with the organization as it moved out from its roots in Russia to become the global education provider it is today.  The Story of ORT: The story of how ORT - the founders, the circumstances and the organization's ability to adapt to change is one of the most remarkable in modern Jewish life. Read about how it all began at the World ORT website. History of Excellent & Achievements: For 130 years, ORT has been helping people to help themselves and as you might expect, during that 130 years there have been quite a few milestones and notable achievements. Here are just a few: 1880: A small group of prominent Russian Jews petition Tzar Alexander II for permission to start a fund to help lift Russia’s five million Jews out of crushing poverty. ORT, Obschestvo Remeslenofo i zemledelcheskofo Trouda (the Society for Trades and Agricultural Labour) is founded. 1881 to 1906: ORT raises over a million rubles and provides manual training to 25,000 Jews in 350 towns of the Russian Empire. 1914 to 1910: During World War I, ORT’s cooperative workshops, soup kitchens and credit offices save thousands from starvation. ORT sets up a Relief-through-Work project to find employment for displaced Jews. 1921: World ORT Union is established by ORT leaders at a conference in Berlin. 1922: The American ORT Society, forerunner of American ORT, is established. 1927: Women’s American ORT is established. 1930s: World ORT starts its operations in Latin America. 1938: Stalin’s purges end ORT operations in the Soviet Union. 1940: ORT conducts vocational training courses in the Kovno Ghetto until 1942. 1945: ORT begins work in the post-war DP (displaced persons) camps. 1947: World ORT representation established in Israel. 1949: The Iron Curtain forces the closing of ORT programs in many Eastern European countries. 1947: to 1950 ORT begins operations in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Iran. 1959: The Syngalowski Centre is created in Tel Aviv – the first modern vocational education institution in Israel. 1960 : ORT International Cooperation activities commence. 1960s: ORT programs in France and Israel meet increasing demands for training from the influx of Jews from North Africa and Eastern Europe. 1970s: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay become major centers of operation for ORT in Latin America. 1976 : Opening of the ORT School of Engineering on the campus of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. 1980: ORT celebrates its 100th anniversary. 1985:   Israel absorbs the first large wave of Ethiopian Jews, many of whom are students and graduates of ORT Ethiopia. 1989: Opening of the ORT Braude International Institute of Technology in Karmiel, Israel. 1990 : ORT returns to Russia after a 52-year absence with the signing of an agreement with the Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education. 1995 : ORT schools open in Moscow and St Petersburg. 1996: ORT enters the Internet Superhighway, linking its centers around the world through ORTnet. 1999: Agreements are signed with the Russian Government and local education authorities leading to a six-fold increase in ORT student numbers in the Former Soviet Union. 2000: ORT celebrates its 120th Anniversary. 2000: Creation of the Regeneration 2000 Campaign and the establishment of a new network of ORT schools and educational centers in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan, Kiev, Kharkov, Dniepropetrovsk, Minsk, Kishinev, Vilnius and Riga. 2004: Building on the success of Regeneration 2000, Regeneration 2004 is initiated and new ORT schools and educational centers are established and expanded in Zaparojie, Odessa, St Petersburg, Moscow, Samara and Bishkek. 2004: Inauguration of the World ORT 1880 Society for ORT’s most inspirational and generous donors. 2006: Merger of American ORT and Women’s American ORT is successfully completed. ORT America is born. 2006: ORT Strasbourg becomes the first private college in France to offer a three-year bachelor degree course in collaboration with a university with the introduction of its Licence Professionel des Metiers de l’Optique e de la Vision with the Louis Pasteur University. 2007: Establishment of Science Journey / Kadima Mada in Israel - the new World ORT initiative. 2007: ORT Uruguay is ranked among the top 500 tertiary institutions in the world (out of 25,000). It is ranked eighth of the 17 Latin American institutions listed and is the only Uruguayan institution included. 2007: President’s Prize for ORT St Petersburg Russia’s highest award for innovation and excellence in education has been presented to the ORT de Gunzburg School in St Petersburg.	Anniversary News  and Events
	Dec. 1: From the Bronx Times Online: ORT - An Organization That Empowers describes the inspiring and sentimental reception at the UN Nov. 19: Representatives from 28 countries joined leaders of major Jewish organizations at the United Nations to celebrate the 130th anniversary of ORT. The guest list had to be stretched from 100 to 150 to make room for all who wanted to raise their glasses to an organization which, since it was founded in St Petersburg in 1880, has brought diverse, innovative and profoundly beneficial education and training programs to millions.