Jordan Times
Monday, September 20, 2004
Project to engage with reform agenda launched
AMMAN (JT) — A project to engage with the
Kingdom's agenda for reform, promoting political reform and developing civil
society was launched yesterday.
Minister of Political Development Mohammad Daoudiyeh and British Ambassador
Christopher Prentice signed the contracts for the project, which will receive
more than £270,000 over two years from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office's
Global Opportunities Fund.
In line with His Majesty King Abdullah's vision as set out in his speech to
Parliament in December 2003, this project seeks to raise the interest and
participation of civil society in the political and democratic process in the
Kingdom.
The project's four strands are aimed in particular at women and youth, according
to a statement released by the British embassy on Sunday.
The project, which builds on a number of other similar projects carried out in
the country, will run for two years and will be implemented by Al Aqsa
Charitable Society (ACS), the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD)/The
Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for Development (ZENID), and the British Council.
The project has four strands:
• Setting up a community radio station at Al Hussein Bin Talal University in
Maan — The project seeks to raise awareness among the people of Maan while
encouraging the discussion of social issues, and includes the establishment of a
partnership with the University of York radio station. University students will
receive training that will enable them to run the radio station and introduce
new programming. The British Council will implement this strand.
• Helping civil society in Madaba learn about parliamentary issues and democracy
— Al Aqsa Charitable Society will target the women and youth of Madaba to train
them on democratic practice; raise awareness of their constitutional rights;
educate them on human, women's and children's rights, and encourage them to
bring these issues into their daily lives.
• Developing a pilot model to encourage the youth of Maan and Madaba to actively
participate in local-level decision making, and to create a network of youth
leaders. JOHUD/ ZENID will implement this strand of the project. The objective
is to create a network of youth leaders able to participate in local level
decision making, and train young people to use a wide range of media to advocate
for the rights of youth and community development.
• Establishing a Youth Parliament that provides a forum for young Jordanians to
engage in the democratic process in a participatory way — The British Council
will work in partnership with the Ministry of Political Development and
Parliamentary Affairs on this strand of the project. Its goal is to establish a
forum for young people to practise participatory democracy, thereby enhancing
the capacity of the younger generation to listen, understand, challenge and
debate different issues.