 ORT Argentina Graduation Class Sent into the World with Skills & Confidence |
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More than 9,000 people filled the Luna Park Stadium
in Buenos Aires to watch as 1,400 ORT students
received their diplomas on November 29, 2000. This year’s graduating class was so large that ORT Argentina had to stage two separate graduation ceremonies in order to accommodate family and friends of the graduating class as well as special guests from the federal and city governments, education officials, the Israeli Ambassador, community leaders and various ORT Argentina committee members. At each ceremony a multimedia extravaganza with a live musical performance and a laser light display set the mood for the 1400 students to celebrate their commencement in style. As each graduate approached the stage decorated with Argentine and Israeli flags, they received diplomas, a medal and a Jewish National Fund certificate for a tree to be planted in their honour in ORT Argentina’s “Grove of Graduates” located in Karmiel. Just after receiving accolades and well wishes from ORT Argentina President Norma de Werthein, ORT Argentina Director General Baruj Zaidenknop and World ORT representative Charlotte Grunberg, the graduates swore to abide by ORT Argentina’s code of ethics. Some key points in the graduates’ code include tending to the permanent upgrading of their own scientific, technologic, ethical and social training. They also vowed to use the knowledge they have acquired with responsibility, in order to improve the general quality of life while abiding by the principles and values of honesty, solidarity and welfare—a fundamental part of the cultural and humanistic heritage of the Jewish people. As the graduation exercises came to a close, the ORT Argentina legacy was passed onto future generations symbolised with a torch relayed by students along the central aisle. When it got to the youngest student in the school, the torch was held aloft. “As these students receive their diplomas, they take on the right and duty of imagining and constructing a better world for us and for the generations to come,” said Baruj Zaidenknop, director general of ORT Argentina. |
