Adding yet more cultural opportunity to a neighborhood already contending with a surfeit of them, the newly revamped International Cultural and Community has just opened its doors in the German Colony, ushering in a bevy of entertainment and educational offerings with a big street party yesterday.

"We're all looking forward to getting out of our cramped temporary premises [on Patterson Street] and back to the center," [ICCC director] El Ami says. "We have spent around $2.4 million on the renovations and I think the new design of the center will be much more welcoming and will be able to accommodate far more activities than we had before."

According to El Ami, the new center is far more than just a cultural and leisure center. "The word 'community' in the center's title is very important," he explains. "This is a place for the community, and we want members of the community to be involved in it. We have all sorts of teams and sub-teams working for the betterment of the area. We say to people: 'If you want to contribute, go for it, but remember that it is not enough just to come up with an idea, you have to be committed and maintain good work.'"

The center's physical purview incorporates the German Colony, the Greek Colony, Rehavia, Talbiyeh, Old Katamon, Yemin Moshe, Kiryat Shmuel and Nayot. It makes for a disparate mix of people with a wide range of cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses and interests. 

The director also sees the center playing a major role in reenergizing the city as a whole. "Jerusalem and Jerusalemites have been through some hard times, and I am aware of the movement of young people away from here to Tel Aviv and elsewhere. What I want to say to students and other young people is that we have something to offer here, and I want you to help us build something together. There's no place in the world like Jerusalem and I believe the variety of groups we have here is our strength, and not a disadvantage."