Municipalities and Councils - Australians for Palestine

Yabous Cultural Center
A New Gate for Al-Quds By Rania Elias
Yabous Cultural Center – located on
Al-Zahra Street in the heart of Al-Quds/
Jerusalem, on the former site of Al-
Quds Cinema – has been undergoing
renovations for the past four years. The
centre is a coordinated effort that began
as a DREAM and worked its way to
become a REALITY through the efforts of
a skilled production team. Each and every
wall, partition, door, chair, and hall has
been carefully crafted by Yabous General
Assembly and building committee.
Based on the important role that
culture plays in defying the continuous
confrontations and threats to Palestinian
national identity, there was a crucial and
urgent need for consolidated efforts
to improve cultural life in the heart of
Jerusalem. Establishing a cultural centre
in Jerusalem is directly in line with the
Palestinian national agenda and plans,
and addresses the rights and needs of
Palestinians.
The centre aims to revive the culture
and arts arena in Jerusalem and to
make it accessible to people of all ages.
Through various social and cultural
events, the centre will create a new
social reality, encourage artistic creativity,
and revitalise the cultural heritage of
Jerusalem, which has been suppressed
and neglected since 1967. The centre will
include the following features:
An 85-seat cinema hall
A fully equipped 420-seat performance
hall, including orchestra pit
A multi-purpose hall (120 seats)
A conference room
A small centre for children
A shop
A modern cafeteria
Yabous Productions has been working
with a wide variety of engineering
companies in setting the standards for
the centre. The construction/renovation
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of the centre has been designed and
supervised by Atelier d’Architecture
et d’Urbanisme – Anastas, managed
by Simon Kouba Consultants, and
implemented by the Six Brothers
Contracting Company.
During this summer, from July till
September, Al-Quds will witness the
gradual opening of the first phase of the
centre, which will include the cinema,
the multi-purpose hall, the shop, the
conference room, the cafeteria, and
the offices. The second and future
phase will include the opening of the
performance hall and the children’s
centre.
We are grateful to all who have
provided significant support for the
establishment of the centre, especially
the Arab Fund for Economic and
Social Development; the A.M. Qattan
Foundation; Bayt Mal Alqods Asharief
Agency, Morocco; Bank of Palestine;
the British Consulate General; CCC-
Consolidated Contractors Company;
the Consulate General of Belgium;
the Consulate General of France;
the Consulate General of Spain –
Spanish Cooperation Office; the Ford
Foundation; the Government of Sharjah,
UAE; the OPEC Fund for International
Development; the Palestine Investment
Fund; the Paltel Group; the Swiss
Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC); the Representative
Office of Norway to the Palestinian
Authority; the Representative Office of
the Federal Republic of Germany; and
several individuals and friends.
In light of the prevailing political
situation, there is an ongoing need
for support, both moral and financial,
to ensure the success and continued
development of this project.
Rania Elias is the director of Yabous
Cultural Center.