New Spirit a non-profit student organization which was established by a group of students from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem together with a number of businessmen in 2003. Our main goal is to strengthen the city of Jerusalem, making it the prosperous, attractive, and vibrant city, as befit for the capital of Israel.
A recent student survey shows that 64% of students in Jerusalem are not originally from the city. Further studies show that 46% of the non Jerusalemite students have never been to Jerusalem before and encounter various obstacles, including feelings of remoteness and alienation from the city, which cause many of them to be wary of the city and encourages them to confine themselves to their campuses and to “escape” back home on the weekends.
We find the young adult population to be most essential to the success of our goal, and we se it as the main target audience. During our first five years of operation, we mainly focused on the city's student population, however now we expanded our audience, and focus on all young adults, ages 18-30. We recognize the importance of this age group and its capabilities in maintaining the city's vitality and future advancement.
As the young adult population is our focus group – our objective is creating, maintaining, and strengthening the ties and bonds between the students and young adults to the city of Jerusalem, as they integrate into the local society, making them care for Jerusalem and cherish it. We believe that this is crucial in order to keep Jerusalem vibrant and prosperous, and reverse current trends of negative migration of the young adult population from the city.
Broad activities are needed to improve the city’s image amongst young adults and to encourage them to stay in the city and become more involved in its development. Studies show, in fact, that Jerusalem suffers from an especially negative image in the eyes of this population, and that the population's exposure to the city's cultural richness and beauty is insufficient. At New Sprit, we have invested efforts in the identification of the core problems leading to these current trends.
We believe that dealing with these problems requires multi-faceted solutions and thus we have developed a three-fold approach, which includes the following projects:
Young Communities Project
The program aims to integrate students and young adults into local underprivileged neighborhoods in Jerusalem, by assisting and guiding groups of young adults form and create young communities.
These residents of these neighborhoods consist of immigrants, usually from the FSU and from Ethiopia, ultra orthodox Jews, and youth at risk. The young communities aim to empower young adults who will be able to integrate into the society, and pose a strong leading force in the neighborhood. Each community holds some 20 members, who lead a community-neighborly lifestyle. Their way of life includes gatherings, celebration of holidays and occasions, and study sessions about Israel society, pluralism, Judaism, and more. In addition, each community voluntarily initiates and operates an educational or social program in the neighborhood, usually for the youth.
The Internship Program
The program provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and network, as they intern in one of our 150 program partners. Collaborating with government and municipal offices, local and international organizations, and with private sector businesses, the Internship Program is the biggest most influential program allowing students to gain practical experience along side with their theoretical studies. The program has been running for over 6 years, and has over 1000 graduates. Studies show, that 57% of all graduates have found a job and stayed to live in Jerusalem, thanks to the Internship Program.
The Young Artists and Cultural programs
The program addresses the young artists studying and living in Jerusalem and its cultural scene. Jerusalem holds numerous cultural institutions including the Jerusalem Theater, the Khan Theater, museums, galleries, and more. In addition it holds 9 art schools and academies, including the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television, the Nisan Nativ Acting School, Musrara, Ma'ale, and more. These serve as homes for dozens of young vibrant artists and art consumers. Not many know this fact, but over 50% of Israel's art students attend Jerusalem prestigious art schools. Some 3 years ago, New Spirit realized the great potential the city holds in this field, and since then has acted in order to facilitate a unique art scene, connect young adults to the local cultural institutions, and create comfortable conditions for young artists to be able to live and work in Jerusalem. We find the art in Jerusalem to be a unique attraction for tourists from Israel and abroad, and we trust that the city will benefit from the assistance and support provided to the creators of art.
