22 August 2008 Israeli Education Minister visits ORT school in Rio de Janeiro Israels Minister of Education, Professor Yuli Tamir, paid an unscheduled visit to the ORT school in Rio de Janeiro during an official visit to sign a bilateral cooperation agreement with the Brazilian government. Professor Tamir looked in on a lecture being given to the schools 120 students about classical music and on a photographic exhibition about Israel started by ORT Brazil. Our school was the only place the Minister visited apart from those listed on her official schedule, said Hugo Malajovich, the Director of ORT Brazil. She was very nice with the students and said how glad she was to be in such a good quality school, Mr Malajovich said. Professor Tamir is a strong supporter of World ORTs Kadima Mada programme in Israel. The fact that the Minister wanted to take time out of her busy schedule to see an ORT school speaks volumes about her appreciation of World ORTs contribution to Israel, World ORT Director General Robert Singer said. The visit was the result of a chance meeting between Professor Tamir and Rosa Klabin, the wife of ORT Brazil President Armando Klabin, during which the Minister expressed the desire to see the school. It was all arranged at the last minute, said Mr Malajovich. We were greatly honoured that she would re-arrange her schedule to spend an hour with us. The Minister saw a lecture on classical music that the students were receiving to prepare them for their attendance at a concert by the Israel Symphony Orchestra later in the day. And she praised our photographic exhibition saying it showed the multi-faceted nature of Israeli life, culture and geography. ORT Brazils Technical High School is officially listed among the top 20 schools in the country. The Ministry of Education has ranked the ORT school 7th of the 443 schools in Rio and 13th of the 18,000 schools nationally. It is the highest ranked technical school and highest ranked Jewish school in Brazil. While in Rio, Professor Tamir signed an agreement with her Brazilian counterpart, Fernando Haddad, to strengthen scientific, academic and intellectual ties between the two countries.