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Where science and social justice meet the community—one bold conversation at a time.

Our vision

When dialogue meets curiosity, the familiar shifts and transformation begins.

We create the conditions where connection sparks real change.

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How we Achieve The vision

“I left with a renewed vision of the possibilities of human generosity.”

Odem’s World Foundation brings science and social justice out of institutions and into the community—making bold ideas personal, accessible, and alive.

Through intimate salon gatherings that connect community, business, academia, and the arts, we create space for meaningful dialogue, unexpected connection, and collective empowerment.

Our Mission

Odem’s World Foundation is a platform for bold ideas, unfiltered conversations, and collective action.

Through curated salon gatherings, we celebrate and connect individuals, organizations, and communities—across disciplines and borders—to cultivate a more just, curious, and connected world.

Your contribution helps us:

Sponsor salons in underserved communities
Bring science and social justice into everyday spaces
Connect people and purpose across fields and borders
Build authentic, inclusive communities
Create meaningful content that lives beyond the room

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what we do

We curate bold, intimate gatherings where science, social justice, and community meet. Through our signature salon series, we build bridges between academia, business, the arts, and modern life.

Tzavta Dinner Salon Series:

Multi disciplinary, thought-provoking, conversations in intimate spaces.

Chardonnay with A Cube of Ice:

Science - Dance Series featuring women scientific research.

Salon in Salon:

Social Justice Salon Series in hair Salons

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Community Building:

Creating a global network of individuals, organizations, and businesses.

Our impact: Connection & Empowerment

At Odem’s World Foundation, we believe:

Conversations spark change.
Gatherings create connection.
Community fosters transformation.

Our salons are more than events. They are vibrant hubs of storytelling, camaraderie, and shared wisdom—spaces where the personal becomes powerful.

About Tzavta - Dinner Salon

Tzavta began with a simple idea: bring people together to talk, learn, and connect.

Inspired by 17th-century Parisian salons—where women, the original salonièrres, sparked radical conversations across class, religion, and gender—Tzavta invites authors, activists, philosophers, and everyday thinkers into intimate, communal spaces.

We don’t gather in traditional institutions. We meet at the table—over a meal created in honor of our guest speaker—in spaces designed to make honesty inevitable.

We eat, because hunger distracts.

We drink, because it softens the edges.

We skip slideshows, because nothing kills connection like a PowerPoint.

We gather, because magic happens when space allows it.

Tzavta by the Numbers:

60 salons
5,000+ attendees
120,000 email reach

Chardonnay with a Cube of Ice

Hard science. Hard liquor. Hardcore dancing.

This series celebrates women in science with the electric energy of a party. Each event features a leading researcher, followed by a full-blown dance floor experience—with spicy bites, stiff drinks, and a playlist chosen by the speaker.

It’s science at its most accessible, exhilarating, and alive.

“If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution!” - Emma Goldman

Salon in Salon

What if a hair salon wasn’t just about beauty—but about power, dialogue, and possibility?

Salon in Salon reclaims working salons as spaces for meaningful conversation, care, and change. Inspired by Nadia Murad’s childhood dream of becoming a hairdresser, this series curates live conversations about science, art, and activism inside functioning beauty salons.

These spaces have always offered community, comfort, and camaraderie. Now, they’re also platforms for social transformation.

In July 2023, Nadia Murad was the guest of honor at a Tzavta Salon—an event that inspired the founding of Odem’s World Foundation and our collaboration with Nadia’s Initiative.

Speak boldly. Thrive unapologetically.

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how you can participate

Your support fuels real conversations that change lives.

Every contribution helps us fund salon gatherings, empower communities, and amplify the voices that need to be heard.

Conversations spark change.

Hospitality creates connection.

Community fosters transformation.

The Team: Board of Directors

The Odem’s World Foundation board is made up of award-winning leaders in journalism, science, urban planning, law, and the arts, each bringing deep expertise and a shared passion for social impact. Guided by Executive Director Michal Lavi, the board supports OWF’s mission through bold ideas, ethical leadership, and community-rooted collaboration. Together, they shape a global platform where equity, conversation, and meaningful change thrive.

Why this matters

Odem’s World Foundation was born from love, urgency, and belief.

In 2017, founder Michal Lavi’s daughter Odem arrived two months early—just 2.75 pounds—but full of fire. Independent, impatient, and determined from the start, she embodies a shared philosophy: patience is a virtue, but determination is everything.

Odem’s World is named for her—and created for all girls to grow up safe, confident, compassionate, and strong.

The spark? A Tzavta gathering featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad—an evening of truth and courage that catalyzed our first major collaboration and set the foundation for everything to come.

We exist to bring bold voices together. To make hard conversations joyful. And to raise a new generation of change-makers—curious, connected, and ready.

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Thank you!

We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which includes the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations, as well as the Tsuut'ina Nation and the Stoney Nakoda Nations – Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley, and the Metis Nation of Alberta in this land, known as Moh'kinstis in Blackfoot.