The Michal Sela Forum (in Hebrew: פורום מיכל סלה) (MSF) is an Israel-based

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization founded in 2020 by Lili Ben Ami that seeks to develop technology to aid in the prevention of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

. MSF has participated in a variety of initiatives to support survivors of domestic violence and abuse, including the development of technology and the provision of security services, as well as public awareness campaigns. The organization is named for Ben Ami's sister, Michal Sela, who was murdered in 2019 by her husband.

Background

In 2020, Lili Ben Ami founded the

Michal Sela Forum to develop technology to help prevent domestic violence. The organization is named for her sister, Michal Sela, an Israeli social worker and mother who was murdered by her husband in October 2019. The first slogan adopted by MSF is "May her memory be a revolution." Ben Ami is the CEO of MSF and had previously completed a coding certificate at Ort Jerusalem and worked there as an instructor.

Safe@Home hackathons

In 2020, the Michal Sela Forum held a Safe@Home

hackathon A hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest, datathon or codefest; a portmanteau of hacking and marathon) is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 hours. Th ...

hosted by Israeli president

Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...

that focused on the development of technology to prevent domestic violence and initmate partner abuse. The event began on May 18, which would have been the 33rd birthday of Michal Sela. 1800 participants worked for three days in groups to develop ideas for technology, with ideas then chosen by a panel for ongoing development. The 2020 hackathon focused on three broad types of technology: mining large databases for prevention purposes, technology for use during crises, and personalized monitoring to detect risks of domestic violence. The first place prize was awarded to the idea for the Stay Tuned app, which looks like a news website but also allows messages to be sent and for recordings to be made in secret through a variety of features.

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

donated NIS 33,000 ($9,380) for the first prize. Following the hackathon, MSF continued with an accelerator phase of the project to support selected ideas. The voice-activated Relyon safety app is based on one of the ideas developed during and after the 2020 hackathon. In 2021, MSF received a $300,000 grant from

Google.org Google.org, founded in October 2005, is the charitable arm of Google, a multinational technology company. The organization has committed roughly US$100 million in investments and grants to nonprofits annually. The organization is noted for se ...

to continue support for the development of technology after the 2021 Safe@Home hackathon. A third Safe@Home hackathon was held in May 2022. In 2022, the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce NSW credited MSF for the idea to create the Social Innovation Accelerator, in collaboration with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Mission Australia Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane Town and Country Mission (1859) and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially establish ...

and government officials, to develop digital tools to help prevent domestic violence.

Collaborative projects

In 2021, the Michal Sela Forum co-sponsored a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

event titled "Terror at Home: Fighting Domestic Violence with Innovation and Technology", and participated in a collaboration between Israel and Australia titled Preventing Domestic Violence through Innovation and Technology. MSF has also developed a defense dog project, to distribute trained "Michal Sela dogs" to women threatened with harm. In 2022, MSF partnered with

Meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or ende ...

to develop the Hebrew-language interface for technology designed to reduce the spread of revenge porn. Also in 2022, MSF partnered with the Ministry of Public Security in Israel to develop and deploy a pilot program to protect women and children at risk of harm, including a Sayeret Michal ("Michal Special Forces") security program and services that include trained defense dogs.

Public awareness campaigns

The Michal Sela Forum created the "Five Relationship Warning Signs" awareness campaign, with an infographic depicting risks of domestic abuse and contact information for support services. The MSF also participated in the 2021 "Listen To My Voice" campaign, which used artificial intelligence to recreate domestic violence victims in videos, including Sela, encouraging others to get help.

Honors and awards

* 2021 Peres Center for Peace and Innovation Medal of Distinction (awarded to Lili Ben-Ami for founding the Michal Sela Forum) * 2021 Rappaport Prize for Promising Groundbreaking Initiative from The Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Foundation (awarded to Lili Ben-Ami for MSF)

References

External links

* {{official, https://www.msf-global.org/ (The Michal Sela Forum - English version)
National Security Tools and the Fight against Domestic Violence
( Institute for National Security Studies, 2020) (research supported by MSF) Non-profit organizations based in Israel Domestic violence-related organizations Women's organizations based in Israel Volunteer organizations in Israel Feminist organizations in Israel