The first includi project outside the “global North” opens its doors tonight: a new Third Place in Ramallah, Palestine. “Kultur Ensemble” houses a library, a cultural café, a makerspace and a stage. This French-German Cultural Institute warmly welcomes locals with a rich cultural program and language courses. Freely accessible places where anyone can go “spontaneously” are unfortunately still rare in Palestine. This makes the opening of this new Third Place in Ramallah extra significant. The French-German Cultural Center in Ramallah is an association of the Goethe-Institut Palestinian Territories and the Institut français Jerusalem. Both institutes have shared a building in Ramallah since 2004. Next to offering both German and French language courses to residents, the center presented joint projects on a broad cultural level: film, visual arts, music, theater and dance, conferences, architecture and science. Becoming a Third Place, the French-German Cultural Center has officially transformed into the French-German Cultural Institute Ramallah with a new joint brand name: Kultur Ensemble*.

Mona Kriegler, Director of the Goethe-Institut Palestinian Territories 2017-2021 describes: “Creating a Third Place in our cultural center in Ramallah leads us to anticipate a diverse and integrative culture. We want to be welcoming to all people, in an atmosphere that is marked by local connection, belonging, warmth and safety. We hope that the reconceptualized French-German cooperation will break down boundaries, lower thresholds and become even more of a trusted partner for the community. Our aim is to actively practice politics of recognition and listening by inviting everybody to help us program their 3rd4all, a Third Place for All.”…[read more via the downloadable]