ABOUT US

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FOUNDER STATEMENT

PICO Kids was founded with the underlying belief that all children are agents of change with tremendous abilities. When given the right knowledge set and creative learning opportunities, our youth can lead us towards a brighter and better future.

The PICO Kids journey emphasizes values-based learning by bringing together the hearts, minds, and hands of our youth. Our world faces increasing challenges, requiring children to possess the vitality, mission-driven values and skillsets to build global bridges and create sustainable environments.

Nurturing the next generation of leaders to be problem solvers who can face immense challenges with optimism, strength, and resilience is more important today than ever before. Watching our PICO Kids respond to the many hurdles we have recently experienced, I can say with certainty that we are on the right track.

Our youth are our future, and we aim to ensure they have the tools they need to succeed.

I invite you to join us in investing in the future of Jerusalem. Together, we can build a model for educational transformation for the 21st century.

Elie Wurtman

OUR STORY

At PICO Kids, we believe that the city of Jerusalem, wrought with complexity and diversity, also creates tremendous opportunity for creativity, resilience, and problem-solving capacity. Jerusalem was chosen as the location for PICO Kids not only because it is the largest and most diverse city in Israel, but based on the belief that Jerusalemites have unique entrepreneurial attributes that are an outcome of their upbringing in the city.

OUR STORY

Jerusalem holds the hidden secret of the start-up nation: the complexity of history and perspective of what it takes to build big things. We believe that this complexity forces Jerusalemites to flex their creative muscles to survive, inspiring the city’s youth to become future leaders and positive change agents in Israel and around the world.

Over the last 20 years, Jerusalemites have been at the helm of some of the largest economic outcomes of Startup Nation – including Mellanox, Mobileye, and Waze. Our vision is to ensure that Jerusalem will continue to contribute to the success of the Israeli economy and innovation sector.

Our goal is to nurture the unique DNA and qualities that have molded great Jerusalemite leaders in past decades in today’s children. With the belief that STEEM ‘language’ is the ultimate equalizer for economic development for all the diverse communities of Jerusalem, PICO Kids programming takes place in privileged and underprivileged communities, in-school and after-school settings in Jerusalem and includes participants from diverse socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. Participants come from all over the city, include girls and boys, ultra orthodox, national religious, secular and Arab children from East and West Jerusalem.

We engage kids in developing 21st century skills through empathy-centric education and hands-on project-based learning. Our values-based framework shows children how to be problem solvers who see challenges first and foremost as opportunities. We cultivate a sense of wonder, intrinsic drive to learn, and prosperity for action. This is the PICO recipe for significance and success.

Our mission is to nurture kids who will grow up to be positive changes makers in Israel and around the world.

Since its founding in 2012, PICO Kids has grown from 12 students to operations in 60 schools throughout Jerusalem, with over 4,000 kids enrolled in PICO Kids programs. Many schools report an increase from 20 to 80 percent in STEEM engagement among their student populations. Due to its highly successful track record, the demand for PICO Kids programs and cutting-edge methodology continues to grow.

PICO Kids was founded in 2012 by Elie Wurtman, a Jerusalemite venture investor and serial entrepreneur.

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/OUR VISION

By connecting to hearts (empathy) and stimulating minds (curiosity), we drive kids to take action and inspire them to create innovative solutions to the world’s biggest problems, creating a more inclusive, just and optimistic society. We encourage this notion by building confidence, empathy and action through real-world applied skills and knowledge. Kids have the power of imagination and resilience to overcome significant challenges. They CAN and SHOULD co-create the future now.

/OUR MISSION

We are driven by the belief that the ever-accelerating pace of technological change calls for a transformation in education and leadership capacity, requiring cultivation of 21st century skills that are built on a foundation of our core values and driven by a sense of mission and desire for success. PICO Kids sets out to nurture kids who will grow up to become problem-solvers and agents of change in their local and global communities.

OUR VALUES

We believe that providing equal opportunity, knowledge and skills to our youth based on empathy and passion is the unique PICO combination to create successful agents of change.

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We are rooted in the Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam (Repairing the world), which guides our everyday work.

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We empower agents of change by strengthening social responsibility, and increasing entrepreneurial capacity

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We build bridges locally and globally through pluralism and diversity.

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We take on shared challenges that lead to the co-creation of sustainable shared solutions.

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We are bound by tradition, history and identity

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We are part of the unique Jerusalem DNA

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We believe in life-long learning that engages the heart, mind, and hands.

PICO Kids Established. 14 students started learning at PICO Partners about innovative thinking and problem solving

First PICO Kids Makethon: 200 kids created innovative solutions around special needs education and wellbeing

Established the Hansens PICO Makerspace/ Inaugural PICO Ambassadors delegation to Hong Kong

PICO Kids Makerspace opens in Talpiot Jerusalem: a 250 square meter workshop equipped with high end tools and equipment for the ultimate hands-on makers experience.

First-ever youth exchange program to UAE

HOW WE DO IT?

We build on a combination of empathy-centric 21st century skills development, STEEM education, immersive peak learning events and transformational experiences that inspire, empower, and drive students to take action. The PICO Kids curriculum is embedded with Stanford University's design thinking methodology, helping children develop their creative abilities and ideas, and implemented around core themes related to the UN SDG goals. This methodology works based on a four-stage model: Empathize / Define / Ideate / Prototype. Working with this method, children embark on an immersive journey to open their minds and hearts, explore, create and think big.

21st Century Skills: Developing a sense of wonder through STEEM (Science, Technology Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Math) training and education.

Transformative Learning Experiences: Inspiring our future leaders to build bridges across all socio-economic and diverse layers of society – secular and religious, Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Immersive Peak Events and Community Engagement: FILL IN