Planned initiatives to encourage volunteerism among youth. AMMAN — The Jordan River Foundation (JRF) will soon implement a series of initiatives across the country’s governorates to encourage voluntary work, according to its director general, Ghaleb Qudah. “During the next few weeks, we will launch campaigns to encourage youths to engage in voluntary activities around the Kingdom. These activities include conducting maintenance work on schools and houses of the underprivileged, and implementing clean-up campaigns,” he said. The initiatives will be launched in cooperation with youth centres and organisations in the country’s governorates, Qudah told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.
Meetings will be held soon with representatives of local communities in different areas across Jordan to determine the needs of these communities and address them through the initiative, he added. Established in 1995, the JRF is a Jordanian nonprofit, non-governmental organisation chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania, according to the NGO’s website. ‘Open days attract thousands to vocational training centres’ AMMAN — Thousands of citizens have shown interest in a campaign to promote vocational training as a career choice among Jordanian youths, particularly in the hospitality and tourism sectors, organisers said Monday.
Implemented in March, the campaign invited young Jordanians and their parents to learn about training offered at vocational centres across the Kingdom. Some 2,500 Jordanians visited the centres within the initiative, Mona Abusaleh, a USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project (Siyaha) official, said on Monday. Through open days at 13 vocational institutes for hospitality and tourism, visitors were briefed on the opportunities available to graduates in the hospitality sector, and they learned about the year-long vocational programmes in hospitality, Arab food production and handicrafts she said in a phone interview. Representatives from hotels, restaurants and catering services attended the open house days and encouraged students to enrol in the VTC programme. Youth are the oil of 21st century — UN envoy. AMMAN — Dedication for a specific cause is the key to success and this is “my message for the young people of the world”, said Ahmad Al Hindawi, the UN secretary general’s envoy on youth.
Hindawi, who was appointed to this post by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in January 2013 to address the needs of young people all over the world, said the younger generation should be listened to and engaged in all aspects of life, including the political process. In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, the UN envoy noted that young people are the “oil of the 21st century, and the future belongs to them”. “If we are not going to listen to them and make sure that they are part of the development agenda, we will not find a way to succeed,” he warned. “We work with the youths themselves, but we need to make them more organised to have a better say, so that their demands will be taken more seriously.” Meet MEPI Alumni | The Middle East Partnership Initiative. MEPI collects profiles from its alumni from all over the region. Please read below to meet our alumni. If you would like to submit your profile, please first register with the MEPI Alumni Network.
MEPI alumni who would like to be featured on this page can contact the MEPI Alumni Coordinator. • Asma Masoud Alkharusi, Oman• Yomna El-Sheridy, Egypt• Ahmed Derar Islim, Syria• Rawdah Abu Taha, Jordan• Sami Hourani, Jordan• Atika Jebrou, Morocco• Dalal Denley, Bahrain• Lukman Arsalan, Jordan In 2006, Asma Masoud Alkharusi started her own tourism business in Oman as an Inbound Tour Operator. With the confidence and knowledge she gained from the course, Asma started another business dealing in high quality Omani souvenirs. The new company, Asma’s Collections, offer unique and modern souvenir and gift ideas including a spectacular line of furniture and home accessories decorated with motifs inspired by Omani jewelry and traditional clothing. SFII is not Yomna’s first entrepreneurial venture.
Mr. Subventions étrangères et Société civile : le «Cheval de Troie» Alors que la fermeture d’organisations non-gouvernementales en Egypte et aux Emirats Arabes Unis, pour cause de prétendue «ingérence étrangère», déclenchait la controverse, des inquiétudes similaires trouvaient un écho en Jordanie. Les motivations et les desseins qui se cachent derrière les généreux fonds européens et américains accordés aux organisations non-gouvernementales locales sont considérés avec scepticisme par bien des gens, qui les voient comme un «cheval de Troie». Depuis sa création en 2007, l’organisation non-gouvernementale de Sami Hourani, qui vise à contribuer au développement de la jeunesse en misant sur les transformations sociales et l’engagement socio-politique, a reçu plusieurs financements d’origine européenne et américaine. Bien qu’il ne croie pas aux théories du complot, Hourani ne nie pas que sous couvert d’aide étrangère, des objectifs secrets puissent être poursuivis par le donateur, qui en attend des bénéfices politiques ou économiques.
Initiative takes political discussions to the street. AMMAN — Taking political discussions from the closed circles of decision makers and analysts to the street, the Diwanieh initiative organised its first public debate last Thursday to answer the question: “Is increasing prices the best solution for Jordan’s economic issues?” The event started with a debate between two groups of young people “for” and “against” lifting fuel subsidies. Economic and Social Council President Jawad Anani, who supports the government’s decision on subsidies, and Khaled Wazani, who is against the measure, evaluated the two sides, urging them to support their arguments with facts and figures.
Anani and Wazani then debated the same topic, after which they answered questions from the audience of around 300 people, according to Diwanieh’s Facebook page. “Fuel price hikes in Jordan happened due to a rise in international prices,” Anani told the audience. “Any price hike decision should be gradual, so that people can adapt themselves to the new prices,” he argued. Plan announced to help 25,000 youths find jobs. AMMAN — The Jordan River Foundation (JRF) announced a plan on Saturday to help around 25,000 young Jordanians find jobs or start their own businesses.
Under the five-year initiative, the JRF will work on empowering young people in the country’s 12 governorates by providing training courses on soft and technical skills needed in the labour market in an attempt to increase their employability. “Our plan will cover all remote areas and poverty pockets in the Kingdom. We will work on different fronts as we will provide training for those who need it and at the same time extend loans to others who want to start their own income-generating projects,” JRF Director General Ghaleb Qudah told The Jordan Times on Saturday.
Noting that the JRF helped empower and recruit more than 35,000 young Jordanians since 2000, Qudah said the foundation’s projects were aimed at addressing unemployment in the country, which according to official figures reached 12.5 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2012. 'Candidates' agendas ignore needs of young people' AMMAN — Several young Jordanians said a “lack of specific answers” to problems is discouraging them from taking part in the January 23 parliamentary elections. “It is the same faces and the same slogans… none of the candidates offers any solutions to our persisting problems as young people. They keep saying ‘No’ to this and ‘Yes’ to that but they are all speaking in general terms,” said Islam Lawzi, a student at Petra University. The 22-year-old is one of several young Jordanians — interviewed recently by The Jordan Times to examine their expectations from the upcoming polls — who expressed feelings of “indifference” over any changes the 17th Parliament could effect.
Others pointed out that most candidates’ agendas “ignored” the needs of young people. Ayat Arabiyat said she would have taken part in the elections if she saw solutions to the growing youth unemployment in the country. “Jordanians nowadays graduate to stay at home, not to work. Supporting Rula Quawas & Academic Freedom. Supporting Rula Quawas and Academic Freedom: An Interview With A Former Student.
On 2 September 2012, Professor Rula Quawas was removed from her position as the Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Jordan under nebulous circumstances. In a letter addressed to the president of the university, the president of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Professor Fred Donner, urged the former to repeal his decision. Donner hinted that the decision might have been related to the circulation of a video that Dr.
Quawas’ students made for her Feminist Theory course in the fall semester of 2011, which addressed the issue of sexual harassment on the university campus. In the months leading up to the removal of Dr. Audrey Ann Lavallee-Belanger (AALB): How did you find out about the controversy? Student (S): I wonder if there is anyone in Jordan who has not yet heard of the “controversial” video. When I first heard about the controversy surrounding the video, I felt I had witnessed an unjust act. What happened to Dr. S: Definitely. Campaign to encourage youth participation in polls. ‘Youth are engine, purpose of development’ Following is the official translation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s remarks at the University of Jordan on Monday: In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate Dear brothers and sisters, I congratulate the people and the homeland on the 50th anniversary of the University of Jordan, an emblem of a process of building and giving to which all Jordanians have contributed, as they undertook challenges with resolve and determination, and succeeded in building modern Jordan as a country capable of keeping up with world developments and the spirit of the age.
His Majesty the late King Hussein believed that investment in the Jordanian individual was the greatest investment. The achievements and standing of this university, along with its contribution to the remarkable progress in the higher education process, make us all proud. It is my unshakable conviction that the youth are the engine that drives the development process; they are the vehicle and the purpose of development. King urges youth to lead process of change. AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday urged young Jordanians to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, stressing that the youth, who represent the largest segment of the population, should exercise their role to lead the reform process and effect the envisioned change. “You, the youth, have the responsibility to hold coming legislatures and parliamentary governments to account, judging them by the degree of their commitment to implementing their electoral platforms to address the problems and challenges you face,” King Abdullah said in his address at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the University of Jordan.
The King said young Jordanians can take part in the decision making in the country by spreading awareness of the vitality of change, and identifying and debating the problems and challenges they face in the context of a national dialogue with political parties and forces, civil society and constitutional institutions. Prince Hassan highlights need to open dialogue with younger generation. AMMAN — A lack of scientific and in-depth research led to the failure in predicting the Arab Spring revolutions, which restored Arabs' self-esteem and ended long decades of confusion, HRH Prince Hassan said on Sunday.
Addressing participants at the 5th conference on the Arab Future in Light of the Youth Movement, organised by the Arab Thought Foundation (ATF), Prince Hassan highlighted the importance of opening channels of dialogue with the younger generation and engaging them in drawing up plans for the future. "Young people, who comprise more than two-thirds of the Arab population, are an important tool in any sustainable political, social and cultural development process. It is important to listen to their voices regardless of their ethnic or social backgrounds," added the prince, who is ATF president.
He noted that the Arab Spring revolutions should not be monopolised by a certain group or sect. "We wanted to get out of the negativity that has been surrounding us for many years. الملك للشباب : صوتكم عامل أساسي ومؤثر في نتائج الانتخابات. عمان - بترا - مؤيد الحباشنة أكد جلالة الملك عبدالله الثاني أهمية صوت الشباب في “مسيرتنا الإصلاحية الشاملة”، مشددا على ضرورة اغتنام الفرصة التاريخية المتوفرة اليوم لمأسسة عمل الشباب بما يخدم طموحاتهم ويحقق أهدافهم في بناء مستقبل الأردن، والتأثير في صناعة القرار. وأوضح جلالته، خلال لقائه أمس الأربعاء مجموعة من النشطاء في قطاع الشباب من مختلف التوجهات الوطنية، أنه يدعم كل جهد يهدف إلى تعزيز قدراتهم ويمكنهم من المشاركة بفاعلية في صناعة المستقبل “الذي هو مستقبلهم”.
وشدد جلالته، خلال اللقاء الذي تخلله حوار مع الحضور، على أن الانتخابات القادمة هي مفصل رئيس في مسيرة الأردن الإصلاحية، وعلى الجميع بمن فيهم الشباب العمل على اغتنام هذه الفرصة والبناء عليها، مؤكدا جلالته “أن صوتكم مسموع ورأيكم مهم ودوركم أساسي في بناء الوطن”. كما أكد جلالته أن الانتخابات النيابية ستجرى بكل نزاهة وشفافية، وأي تدخل بهذا الشأن هو “أمر مرفوض بالمطلق وسأحاسب من يحاول العبث بهذا الأمر”. وعبر جلالته عن دعمه الكامل ومساندته للشباب ودورهم المؤثر في مختلف القطاعات وعلى رأسها القضايا المرتبطة بتوفير فرص العمل والحياة الكريمة. «صوتك حاسم» تنظم ورشة في الكورة عن دور الشباب في الانتخابات. دير أبي سعيد - الدستور- من عبدالحميد بني يونس نظمت مديرية شباب اربد في قاعة مركز شباب دير ابي سعيد ورشة عمل عن دور الشباب في الانتخابات المقبلة وذلك ضمن مبادرتها التي تنفذها في مختلف المراز الشبابية والاندية الرياضية في المحافظة.
واستعرض الخبير التربوي وعضو لجنة انتخابات دائرة الكورة د. خالد الدرابي اهمية الانتخابات المقبلة والتي تجرى وفق قانون جديد وبالية جديدة وفي ظل ظروف صعبة يواجهها الوطن. وبين ان الانتخابات المقبلة والتي يوليها جلالة الملك عبدالله الثاني اهتماما كبيرا ستحدد معالم مرحلة مهمة من مراحل بناء الوطن موضحا أن جلالة الملك حمل ابناء الوطن مسؤولياتهم تجاه الانتخابات التي ستفرز حكومة برلمانية وستتوج مرحلة مهمة من مراحل الاصلاح التي يقودها جلالة الملك.
وفي نهاية الورشة التي حضرها مدير الشباب محمد جوارنة وعدد من رؤساء الفعاليات الشبابية في اللواء وعدد كبير من الشباب والشابات دار نقاش بين المحاضر والحضور تركز على أهمية الانتخابات القادمة والتحضيرات الجارية من قبل الهيئة المستقلة لإنجاجها. شباب اربد تنظم ورشات في الكورة عن دور الشباب في الانتخابات. دير ابي سعيد- الدستور- عبدالحميد بني يونس نظمت مديرية شباب محافظة اربد امس ورشة عمل في نادي دير ابي سعيد الرياضي تتعلق بدور الشباب في الانتخابات، وذلك في اطار حملة «صوتك حاسم «التي تنفذها المديرية ضمن حملة للمجلس الاعلى للشباب للتعريف باهمية الانتخابات القادمة ودور الشباب في افرازاتها التي تنعكس على الوطن. واستعرض الدكتور سالم الحراحشة مدير مدينة الحسن الرياضية اهمية الانجازات الاصلاحية التي دخلت حيز التنفيذ بفضل اهتمام جلالة الملك ورعايته لها، ومنها قانون الانتخابات وتشكيل الهيئة المستقلة للانتخابات، لافتا إلى أن الانتخابات القادمة ستمكن من استكمال برامج اصلاحية تقود الوطن الى الافضل.
وتناول الحراحشة دور الشباب في الانتخابات من خلال المشاركة الفاعلة والمسؤولة باختيار المرشح الاكثر قدرة على تحمل المسؤوليات، مشددا على محاورة الشباب للمرشحين لاستكشاف الاكثر كفاءة منهم، مؤكداً أن المرحلة القادمة من مراحل البناء تستدعي المزيد من المسؤولية لما تحمله من تحديات للشباب. «نهر الاردن» تطلق مبادرات تنموية شبابية في محافظة الكرك. Youth interested in elections, seek better representatives. الملك للشباب : صوتكم عامل أساسي ومؤثر في نتائج الانتخابات. الملك يدعو الشباب إلى اغتنام الفرصة التاريخية لمأسسة عملهم السياسي عبر إسماع صوتهم. بحث الوضع الاقتصادي مع ممثلي مؤسسات وهيئات شبابية في اربد.