Bethlehem University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Beit Jala Municipality on Friday, 14 June 2019, in the Municipality Headquarters.

Vice Chancellor, Brother Peter Bray, and Beit Jala Mayor, Nicola Khamis, signed the MoU in the presence of the Director of the Institute of Community Partnership (ICP), Moussa Rabadi, and a number of the Municipal Council members.

The MoU aims to create cooperation between both the University and the Municipality to promote tourism in the city. The MoU’s main items included that the ICP/Bethlehem University will implement projects to promote the tourism sector and provide employment opportunities for young people. One project aims to activate and operate the municipality’s community center building through establishing a market entitled “Marketing Hub” that sells agricultural products and the Craft and Artisan Cooperative Societies’ products.

The ICP / Bethlehem University will also select, train and mentor a group of leading young people in Beit Jala to establish an effective business management company to manage the market. It will also organize some artistic and cultural activities in the building to attract and activate tourism, through networking and coordinating with the different institutions in the Bethlehem district.