Youth G.O. Campaign
AMMAN —"The program gave me the opportunity to meet young members of political parties and to know those parties’ ideologies thus I became more interested in joining a youth-based political party." - Rand Al-Khashman, one of the participants in the training program.
In honour of International Youth Day, the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs in cooperation with the ‘EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development – EU JDID’ Project held a celebratory event under the name Youth G.O. which stands for Youth Generation Obadir (obadir means ‘I initiate’ in Arabic). The celebratory event highlighted the efforts of this cooperation’s achievement over the course of a year-long training programme under the Project’s third component “Support to Political Parties’ System”. The training Programme aimed to enhance the capacities of participants to engage in the political process. This initiative is particularly relevant in a country like Jordan, where over 67% of the population is under 30 years of age, where 42 young political party members and civic actors were awarded with certificates for their completion of the programme becoming the first class of young political and civic actors
The ceremony held under the patronage of H.E. Musa Maaytah, Minister of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, involved the participation of 120 representatives of political parties, civil society organisations, former and current Members of Parliament and representatives of the European Union and other international organisations.
‘During the past year, 42 young political party members and civic actors were introduced to a set of political concepts and skills that are necessary for effective political engagement which had not only been insightful for the graduates but for everyone involved including ourselves" said Ms. Aseel Sha’ban, EU-JDD Technical Advisor on Political Parties Affairs
During the ceremony, a short video, where the participating youth reflects on the Programme as well as on its significance in developing their debating skills, teamwork abilities and political knowledge, was projected.
‘’We want youth to be able to voice their concerns. We want young people to be involved in matters of their concern. Democracy is not only about elected officials acting on behalf of the population of a country but also about participation of citizens in decision-making processes’ said Dr. Michael Steffens on behalf of the Delegation of the European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
At the end of the graduation ceremony, H.E. Bakr Al Abadi on behalf of the Minister handed out certificates and honorary shields to the graduates thanking the European Union Delegation and the EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development (EU-JDID) for the training program saying “The laws of political reform of the Election, Municipalities and Decentralization laws not only provided the youth with the opportunity to participate in the political process as voters, but also as candidates.”
A lively debate session, where two teams discussed ‘Youth Joining Political Parties is a Necessity in the Current Jordanian Status’ closed the event.
As a continuation of Youth G.O., EU-JDID is now holding a social media campaign of engaging activities and publication of success stories until August 20th. To follow and participate in this campaign:
Facebook | Twitter | #YouthGO
To contact the organising team, send an email to jordan@eces.eu