Jordan Times
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Queen urges active youth participation in economic and political development
'Youth make up 70% of our people, represent 100% of our future'
AMMAN (JT) — Joining around 100 students in an interactive dialogue session on Monday, Her Majesty Queen Rania called for an active role by the youth in the economic and political development of society.
The dialogue, the second in a series of meetings bringing together officials and students from various parts of the Kingdom, allows youth to address issues of concern to the country at large.
Seated in a casual setting at the new Nature Centre of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, students from the INJAZ programme were inspired and supported by Queen Rania's interest in issues of concern to them and in their active participation in the dialogue.
INJAZ, the country's first initiative aimed at building the skills of Jordan's future workforce to help the economy compete globally, was launched as a Jordanian non-profit organisation by Queen Rania in 2001.
Queen Rania noted that “while youth make up 70 per cent of our people, they represent 100 per cent of our future. Their economic and political participation has a great effect on our shared future.”
Stressing that bringing about positive results requires systematic and open channels of communication between youth and decision makers, Queen Rania underlined that we are all stakeholders and have a shared responsibility.
“Governments alone cannot effect change, nor can the people, rather both must connect and communicate,” she said.
Her Majesty said while the political will is present for example in the privatisation process, more work should be exerted on a national level to raise people's awareness of its benefits.
“Individuals have a major role in making their voices heard, based on concrete knowledge and on raising awareness of the issue,” Queen Rania told the youth.
With over 60 per cent of the Kingdom's population under the age of 25, Queen Rania is actively promoting a better understanding of their needs and the means to address them, supporting initiatives to promote communication and dialogue among them and between them and the nation's decision makers.
“Youth are the tools of change and we must reap the benefits of their contributions,” Her Majesty stressed.
She noted that instead of a culture of expectation we should instil a culture of participation led by youth who represent more than half of the society.
To allow for networking and clear channels of communication between the youth and various sectors of the society, the session was moderated by Vice Chairman of Nuqul Group Ghassan Nuqul, Deputy Mohammad Arsalan, Mohammad Olayyan, chairman of the board of Al Ghad newspaper which is expected to hit newsstands next month, and Tala Nabulsi of the Jordan Youth Forum.
Participating youth discussed their success stories achieved through creative initiatives, and how to activate their role in the economic and political arenas through the media; creating an effective network of youth; engaging different organisations in the field; building and utilising skills; and effecting change through integrating such skills in educational curricula.
Queen Rania further noted that transparency is key in setting a system of effective two-way communication, adding that people must be empowered to make their voices heard. This comes through education, and this is where His Majesty King Abdullah's interest in education lies.
“Education is a major tool of empowering people. In Jordan, we are taking tremendous strides to ensure the provision of proper quality education to all segments of society,” she added.
Concluding the session, Queen Rania called for holding similar interactive dialogue sessions to aid the overall development process within communities and to help decision makers formulate effective policies with input from youth.
The session concluded with recommendations targeted towards helping spread the culture of participation through various means like publicising success stories.
Students suggested the formation of a national media strategy targeted towards youth and suggested regular meetings with decision makers in the public and private sectors to ensure communication and flow of ideas.
Queen Rania took part in a similar session last month held on the sidelines of the Entrepreneurship Jordan Conference at the Dead Sea where she noted: “Jordan is now at a turning point with a new vision that requires the much needed spirit of initiative, progressiveness and participation of all, especially the youth.”
In his Speech from the Throne opening the 14th Parliament in December 2003, King Abdullah outlined the foundations and mechanisms for comprehensive development, which include involving all in the development process, especially youth.
“The aspired for change will come about only through stimulating Jordanian youth and listening to their views, for they are the pillars of the future and the substance of change. Consequently, their role should be enhanced, job opportunities should be made available to them, and their hopes and aspirations should be realised,” the King told Parliamentarians.