AKIM Programs
Culture & Leisure
AKIM promotes the realization of creative potential by creating accessible avenues which allow talents, not disabilities, to take center stage.
Theater Groups
Many people with intellectual disabilities struggle to find a platform to express their inner worlds and hidden talents.
Theater allows them to showcase their potential through artistic expression and interactive teamwork. Training includes theater games, improvisations, rehearsals, sound development, dance, styling, videography, and more.
All actors are individuals with IDD and performances showcase their personal experiences, revealing their lives in an unfiltered way. The selected plays are an important tool in changing perceptions toward people with IDD, and raise awareness of their struggles in society. AKIM runs three theater groups across Israel and we’re continuously working to reach new audiences.
Our groups include The Other Theater, Simple Dreams, and since 2019 the new Arab Theater. The actors perform for audiences in Jewish, Muslim, and Druze communities throughout the year for audiences of schoolchildren, soldiers, municipal & government employees, and more. These award winning productions create positive exposure, shining a spotlight on life with IDD, allowing audiences to see the actors for more than their disabilities.
Together in Tanach
Inclusion in Judaic Studies
An exciting project, in collaboration with 929, to make Tanach (Bible) studies accessible to people with disabilities.
The 929 Project, led by AKIM Israel Chairman Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau, is dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation centered around the issues that unite and divide. Discussion topics are anchored in, based on, or inspired by the formative text of the Hebrew Bible (Tanach) and its 929 chapters.
This remarkable joint venture offers people with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to study and gain inspiration from classic Jewish texts, carefully adapted to the cognitive level of participants.
The study group meets weekly for discussions, singing and getting to know old and new friends in a warm and engaging virtual community. Together in Tanach brings inclusion in Tanach right into homes across Israel, making this special program not only inspiring but also accessible.
Arts @ AKIM
Creativity through art enables the people we support to express themselves without words.
Art becomes their voice, expressing feelings and sharing experiences with the world. The creative process allows them to effectively communicate, despite cognitive or physical challenges, and offers a therapeutic outlet for emotions that cannot always be expressed verbally.
Painting sets an individual free from the boundaries of physical or mental limitations, offering a creative outlet for self expression. AKIM’s art workshops have helped uncover talents that may have otherwise remained dormant.
Studies suggest that participating in the arts encourages self-determination and fosters increased self-esteem. In an effort to offer participants the opportunity to create art, AKIM provides creative workshops twice weekly in each community living apartment and leisure center.
Select pieces from the vibrant and complex artwork created by participants are displayed at art exhibitions, some of which will be merchandised for the benefit of the artist.
Help AKIM give every aspiring artist the chance to succeed.
Our Programs & Services
We believe that every person has the right to a fulfilling life. Through our programs and services, and a person-centered approach, we directly enrich, influence, and enhance the lives of Israelis with intellectual disabilities and their families in communities across Israel.
Through the department of Advocacy for Inclusion within the community, AKIM provides support and assistance in all aspects of life for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
Support for Families
Going to work and feeling part of a significant daily activity is an important element of every person’s life; even more so, when the person has an intellectual disability.
Employment & Career
As part of AKIM’s vision of inclusion, it established a unique collaboration with one of the greatest tools for integration and solidarity in Israeli society, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).
Equal in Uniform: IDF Services
AKIM sees creative expression and culture as keys to a healthy lifestyle and important elements of leading a meaningful life.
Culture & Leisure
Our Voice – Driven by the concept of nothing about us, without us, AKIM’s aim is to give a powerful voice to the individuals that need it most. Participants learn about their rights and gain the skills necessary to express their needs and raise awareness in the community.
Advocacy & Rights Guarantee
AKIM firmly believes that every person has a basic right to live within the community, in a housing structure that suits his/her various and changing needs over the years.
