New Spirit is a non-profit student organization which acts to strengthen ties between students and other young adults and the city of Jerusalem. 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.
In our first five years of operation, we have naturally focused on the city's student population. At this point, we are expanding our scope to people aged 18-30 in general, in recognition of the importance of this age group in general to the city's vitality and future advancement. Our goal is to make this sector of the population cherish the city and what it stands for, thus increasing their connection and feeling of belongingness to Jerusalem. This is crucial in order to keep Jerusalem Jewish, vibrant and prosperous, and to reverse current trends of negative migration of the young 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:
Community Involvement Project - Integrates students and young adults into poor neighborhoods and various projects for the good of underprivileged communities in Jerusalem.
Internship and Employment Project – A unique project in Israel; creates job opportunities and internship positions for students in the city of Jerusalem.
Culture and City Image Project - brings students and young adults closer to Jerusalem’s rich heritage and present cultural scene, making it a more welcoming place for them. New Spirit aims to transform the city's image, and to return its lost status of cultural and intellectual capital of Israel, not just a formal, political capital. We believe that this is especially crucial in order to improve
