On behalf of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah II, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation/ Chairman of the HPC Board of Trustees, Dr. Mary Qawar, sponsored a ceremony to recognize participants in the “Opportunity Youth” program organized by HPC in cooperation with USAID-JCAP Tawasol Project.
Fifty young men and women aged 18-29 participated in the program which aims to prepare youth to take part in realizing and investing in the demographic dividend policies by raising their awareness of family planning, women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship, supporting their entrepreneurial initiatives and motivating them to be agents of positive change in society.
Minister of Planning, Dr. Mary Qawar, stressed the important role youth play in society and noted that empowering youth, building their capacity, and enhancing their knowledge and skills in various fields is a top priority for the government and allows youth to be a driving force of development and contributors to a bright future for society.
Qawar added that His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince place special attention on youth through initiatives and directives that aim to boost the role of youth in economic, social and political development so as to achieve sustainable, comprehensive development. She indicated that in response to Royal directives, the government has launched the national development plan and priorities for (2019-2020) whereby the government asserts the involvement of youth in the programs and projects of the plan to empower them and create work opportunities for them.
Further, Qawar explained that the Crown Prince Foundation plays a leading role in building a promising future for youth by inspiring them and guiding them to partake in serving and improving their societies, adding that the Foundation has contributed to raising youth awareness, promoting social responsibility values, enabling youth to market their initiatives and explore funding sources to support their sustainability.
Qawar also asserted the need to consolidate national efforts in supporting youth through fostering entrepreneurial thinking, innovation and creativity to promote development, pointing out that the ministry continuously seeks to create a suitable environment for capacity enhancement and mobilization, refine the personality of young people and enhance their participation in public life and the labor market by enabling them to benefit from all financing, lending and training services and providing different types of support to them, especially financial support and sponsorship for entrepreneurial projects, and increasing their productivity and competitiveness in local, regional and international markets.
On the other hand, HPC Secretary General, Dr. Abla Amawi, indicated that HPC is guided by royal directives to focus on youth, remove obstacles from their way and attend to their needs to enable them to play an effective role in society, stressing that HPC considers youth at the forefront of population and development issues and require a clear and balanced development formula for future planning.
Amawi explained that the program is part of HPC’s efforts to foster a generation of youth who are aware of population and development issues, supportive of the national efforts aimed at realizing and investing in the demographic divided, and capable of implementing entrepreneurial projects to serve society through attaining leadership skills that enables them to embark on managing their projects on the ground.
Further, Amawi stressed the importance of youth entrepreneurship as a self-employment option, and the need to enable youth to create jobs rather than seek jobs to help them achieve their ambitions, independence and excellence, improve their financial conditions, initiate ideas, innovate and make the transition from the demand side to the supply side in the labor market.
USAID Acting Mission Director in Jordan, Nancy Eslick, highlighted USAID’s commitment to providing education, work and leadership opportunities for youth across the Kingdom to help create a robust and stable future for society, explaining that it is inspiring to see youth take responsibility for their future and help support their communities.
The program included two bootcamps for youth on the demographic dividend policies, women’s empowerment, the impact of family size on family well-being, and social entrepreneurship skills, based on which participants presented 19 project proposals to serve their communities, and 5 were selected as the winning entrepreneurial projects.
The winning projects included one entitled “without soil” by Amina Al Saaida and Tareq Sahyoun, which trains youth and housewives in hydroponics. “Smart sorter” by Ziyad Al Fawair, was another winning project about the automatic and environment-friendly sorting of waste, while “Tatkeesh Team” by Abduallah Al Soub, Mohammad Al Dmour, and Muna Al Hajaya was a winning project that films comedy sketches that support population issues. “Recycle it, don’t throw it” by Nabil Hamadeen and Hanan Da’aja, focused on teaching youth and housewives how to recycle cardboard and glass into home accessories or educational objects, while “Terhal Team” by Mutasem Nuaimat consisted of young tour guides who were interested in promoting their village and encourage tourists and adventurers to visit “Basta- Ma’an Governorate” and explore its nature and antiquities.
The program trained 24 young men and women in facilitating community sessions using the raffahee tool, which is a learning and awareness tool that utilizes interactive, visual and tangible methods including short films, group exercises, discussions, role-play and simulation which allow youth to conduct 48 community discussions sessions targeting 1,200 youth from different governorates on issues the demographic dividend, the advantages of family planning, the impact of population growth on economic growth and women’s empowerment.
The steering committee of the program comprises representatives of the Higher Population Council, the Ministry of Youth, the Crown Prince Foundation, All Jordan Youth Commission, and JCAP Tawasol Project.
