Humanities education and research
Supporting education and research in the humanities and broadening educational opportunity
Humanities education and research
The flourishing of democratic societies depends greatly on the humanities: the formation of young people who are capable – with intellectual rigour, critical-mindedness and empathy – of making sense of the past and applying it to the challenges of the future.
Education is more than merely being taught skills and receiving knowledge. It should also be an opportunity to nourish and enrich oneself, intellectually and spiritually; to engage with new ideas, challenge assumptions, and develop a philosophy of life.
Our support for research in the humanities at significant academic institutions includes the Seminar in Advanced Jewish Studies at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. We also support educational initiatives to inspire young people about the humanities – such as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Associate Schools programme and Classics for All’s programme for teaching Latin in primary schools.
We are committed to the broadening of educational opportunity. We have provided scholarships for students of Ethiopian heritage at top Israeli universities, and for students from areas of crisis and conflict at Bard College Berlin’s Program for International Education and Social Change.
Humanities education and research projects
Polonsky Academy for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Polonsky Prizes for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines
Cultural heritage and digitisation
We are excited by the extraordinary opportunities afforded by digitisation. We support major libraries in making the riches of their collections available to researchers and the wider public in innovative and attractive ways.
Excellence and innovation in the arts
We aim to encourage engagement with ideas and a broader and more informed public conversation about values. We support arts organisations in developing new cultural work and bringing it to wider audiences.