Olympic Committee introduces ‘Nash’ to Jordan’s children

AMMAN — Nash the Black Iris is the latest initiative by the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) that aims to communicate comprehensive messages of sport and healthy living to the Kingdom’s youngsters.

The initiative is the brainchild of JOC President HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein and is based on a sporty-looking character that will target every single child in Jordan using special and creative methods.

The Prince who oversaw the Nash character’s development said:  “It is well documented that unless you have exposed children to sports by the time they are eight, then you have probably lost them. Nash is someone that the children can relate to and who can then teach them the true values of sports in a fun way that they can understand.”

According to the Prince: “This is just the start of a long-term programme to bring young children closer to sports like never before.” 

The initiative was launched on Sunday during a special ceremony at the Children’s Museum, during which Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat deputised for the Prince. It was attended by JOC Secretary General Lana Jaghbeer, JOC board members and a host of children who enjoyed learning about the story of Nash and were the first batch of Nash Club members who took the oath of membership.

According to JOC, more events will be planned through 2016 with the eventual goal for Nash to have reached out to every single child under the age of eight in Jordan, and a series of school visits to JOC headquarters will be organised in cooperation with the Royal Health Awareness Society’s healthy schools initiative.

A special section for Nash has been created on the JOC website in which children and their parents can follow.