The Lower House and the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) have recently signed a memorandum of understanding for the training and qualification of 50 young men and women from all the governorates of the Kingdom as part of the practical training of the fourth cycle of the Parliamentary Fellowship Project.
The initiative aims to cultivate young leaders capable of effecting change through increasing their awareness of various national issues and challenges and acquainting them with the oversight and legislative role of the Lower House.
The memorandum, signed by the House Secretary-General Awad Al-Ghweiri, and KAFD’s Director Mazen Tabbalat, with the attendance of the Director of Programs and Initiatives at the Fund, Rama Rawash, aims to expand the base of youth participation in public life. This is achieved by providing participants with practical training opportunities at legislative and oversight institutions where they serve as research assistants to the deputies. They will be tasked with conducting research and providing supporting information on draft laws or issues that are brought up for parliamentary discussion.
Al-Ghweiri stressed that this memorandum translates the visions of His Majesty King Abdullah II and HRH Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah in relation to the youth political empowerment drive. He said that they are guided by the Royal directives that are always supportive of the youth sector, being the cornerstone of plans for the upcoming stage.
Al-Ghweiri added that House Speaker Ahmad Al-Safadi, upon his election, directed the General Secretariat to implement the King’s directive entailed in the Speech from the Throne. In this address, His Majesty directed all state institutions and leaders to support youth and women and enhance their role on the political stage. The official emphasized in this regard that the House continues in applying its approach based on cooperation and openness to all, welcoming all youth initiatives and building partnerships aimed at developing young leaders capable of making a difference.
He highlighted the objectives achieved in the previous cycle of the Fellowship project and the benefits that reflected on both the Lower House and KAFD. He pointed out that the participating youth in the project demonstrated a high level of competence and insight, having been exposed to all stages of the parliamentary workflow to realize His Majesty's vision of broadening the base of public participation in decision-making, especially among women and youth.
The secretary general underlined the necessity of establishing a new work methodology that includes the integration of youth into the various directorates of the House, where they will gain knowledge and expertise, so that the benefits gained would extend fully and more broadly to both the House and the participating youth to better serve national goals.
Al- Ghweiri said that the country is approaching an important phase, as next year will witness new parliamentary elections. “This calls on us as institutions to build a new foundation and take steps to stimulate citizens, especially youth and women, to actively participate in the political modernization process,” he said.
For his part, Tabbalat stressed the importance of the partnership with the Lower House to implement the Parliamentary Fellowship project in its fourth cycle, due to the importance of its outputs as far as the future of women and youth is concerned. He noted that the Fellowship is the only political project that links theoretical and practical training, indicating that it is also one of the most important plans that support the outputs of the political reform system launched by His Majesty King Abdullah II. One of the recommendations of the reform drive, he noted, underlines the necessity of expanding the implementation of reforms through cooperation with a group of partners, targeting youth at various levels (school students, university students, influential academics at universities, youth leaders in the governorates, and youth engaged in political parties).
Tabbalat said that the Fund, building on the outputs of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System, namely the elections and political party laws, has implemented a number of projects aimed at encouraging political participation among youth through engaging in political parties that work on the basis of platforms, and creating a supportive environment for party action. He pointed out that the next stage constitutes the starting point to expand participation in party and political life as a whole.
Tabbalat explained that through the Jordan Youth Commission, KAFD’s youth arm, the Fund organizes several political, social, and educational sessions and dialogues so that youth will have the chance to play an active role in conveying the message of the Jordanian state and its position on all national issues.
It is worth noting that the Fellowship project was launched in 2019 as a translation of His Majesty the King's vision of youth political empowerment. During the first phase of the project, the participating youth receive training at the hands of experts and specialists on several topics including the drafting of political papers, political and legal research, party and parliamentary work, political and parliamentary action, human rights, political media, digital media, and opinion polls, in addition to participating in a series of debate sessions. Moreover, they are engaged in practical training at the Lower House as research assistants to MPs during the current ordinary session.