Youth empowerment workshop seeks to broaden horizons

AMMAN — The All Jordan Youth Commission (AJYC) held a three-day open conversation session from Saturday to Monday with the aim of empowering youth in several fields.

The session, held at the commission office in Amman, guided participants in “thoroughly understanding and introducing themselves to others in a unique way to stand out from the crowd”.

During the second day of the session, Coach Rouman Haddad encouraged participants to research certain social and political matters around the globe and urged them to analyse and predict actions based on the given information.

The coach also guided the participants in analysing past and current global events to anticipate possible future events.

During the third day of the monthly session, books were provided and assigned to participants to be discussed at the next meeting, Haddad told The Jordan Times.

Jawaher Adwan, a participant of the programme, said that the lectures, information and book discussions enrich participants’ political, social, artistic and cultural knowledge. She added that the programme encourages socialising, sharpens personalities and helps to build “clear visions and unique opinions”.

Assim Khateib, another participant, said that the systematically organised conversation used to deliver information in the programme is “very effective”. 

“The sessions enable us to see a bigger picture of various events and broaden our horizons,” Khateib said.

He added that the programme brings together people of different ages, ideologies and perspectives, which “makes anything said during a session a chance to learn”.

In coordination with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development, the AJYC organises monthly “conversation spaces” in the northern, southern and central regions of the Kingdom. It targets 40 to 60 participants in each region, who commit to attending the conversations for a year-long period, according to Othman Abbadi, coordinator at AJYC’s office in north Amman.

The programme seeks to gather youth from different governorates to enhance their communication skills “within shared national visions and aspirations”, he said.

It also expands participants’ cultural and cognitive knowledge, builds their leadership skills, enables them to overcome national challenges, guides them in turning social media into balanced and meaningful platforms, helps them conduct investigative research and encourages them to create initiatives, Abbadi said.