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AMMAN — Two workshops aimed at developing ways to scale up the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in the Kingdom in line with the Jordan Response Plan and Jordan’s Economic Growth Plan were conducted this week, as part of the Moving Energy Initiative.

The WANA Institute, Chatham House, EDAMA  and the NRC first hosted a roundtable meeting on Wednesday, which gathered high-level stakeholders from different government entities to discuss how significant energy cost-saving methods for public and community buildings in refugee hosting areas can generate funding to improve services and reduce social pressures, a WANA statement said.

“Energy efficiency and renewable energy for schools can reduce electricity bills to zero,” Glada Lahn from the Moving Energy Initative said, noting "given that Jordan faces an electricity deficit of some JD5 billion, national implementation of such initiatives would be of long-term benefit to the Jordanian economy. Education and health standards would also improve with better temperature conditions in the buildings, hot water all year round and the possibility to improve the quality of services by investing the generated savings,” she added. 

Roundtable participants discussed potential long-term partnerships with the private sector and raised ideas for how donor aid or soft loans can be used to kick-start sustainable local financing for scaling up green initiatives, the statement read.

On Thursday, a second workshop focused on the outcomes from the two Moving Energy Initiative pilot projects in Jordan: the Green Affordable Homes project conducted by the Jordan Green Buildings Council and the Habitat For Humanity initiative, which retrofitted 48 low-income Jordanian family homes and built three new affordable green homes in Ajloun and Salt. 

“There are currently 2 million Jordanians and Syrians without access to affordable housing and 1.3 million people in Jordan living in sub-standard accomodation,” Aya Rabab’ah, programme manager of the Jordan Green Buildings Council said, highlighting “retrofitting existing homes in Jordan can improve the quality of life of many families without increasing their energy bill.”

Meanwhile, Millennium Energy Industries has almost completed the solarisation of Al Mafraq Hospital’s water heating system, which is estimated to save the hospital around JD32,000 in diesel costs per year, allowing these funds to be spent on improving health care facilities, according to the statement.

“In 2017, 20,281 Syrians were treated in the Mafraq public hospital’s emergency room, compared to 27,341 Jordanians,” General Manager of the Thermal Unit at Millennium Energy Industries Hisham Mihki, said.

 “The influx of Syrian refugees has resulted in a 20 per cent increase of electricity usage in the hospital, despite the energy saving measures the Ministry of Health introduced,” he explained.

“The money we save at the hospital, will be invested in improving the overall services, equipment, educational programmes and training of the medical staff,” General Manager of Al  Mafraq Public Hospital Mohammad Tahan concluded.

AMMAN — The Jordan delegation of the  International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday launched the third edition of the Professional Standards for Protection Work, aimed at ensuring that all protection work carried out by humanitarian actors in armed conflict and other situations of violence across the region is safe and effective. 

Launched in cooperation with several humanitarian organisations and actors, the new standards reflect the “shared thinking and common agreement” among human rights practitioners in the UN, NGOs and components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, according to a statement by the ICRC.

“Protection is no longer the exclusive domain of humanitarian organisations,” head of the ICRC delegation in Jordan Juerg Montani said during the launching ceremony, warning that “the current humanitarian situation in the Near and Middle East continues to call for concerted and coordinated efforts from all actors involved in protection work”.

“It is essential to launch the standards here in Amman, because we are at the heart of a region where protection challenges are countless and complex,” the official added. 

Laurent Saugy, head of the protection unit at the ICRC Delegation in Jordan, told The Jordan Times that “the number and diversity of humanitarian and human rights actors involved in activities aiming at enhancing the protection of persons affected by conflicts has increased globally, and Jordan, as a humanitarian hub, is no exception to this trend”, stressing that “it is fundamental that all those working in this field, be it in Jordan or in Syria, meet common professional standards so that their work, principles and motivation are understood by the people affected, the host communities and all concerned authorities”.

“The absence of common professional standards can lead to situations in which protection work could actually harm the people and communities it seeks to protect,” Saugy warned, explaining that “these standards can be used as a reliable reference in developing internal policies, guidelines and organising training”.

The third edition of the document comes as a result of a “wide” consultative process with several protection actors, and it is available for consultation through a mini-site (professionalstandards.
icrc.org) and a smartphone application. 

Comprehensive guidelines on protection and information management have been incorporated given the rapid developments in information and communication technologies and concurrent growth in data-protection regulations, in addition to more detailed information on how to uphold a principled approach to protection work when interacting with UN peace operations and other international forces. 

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a March Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to death after convicting him of murdering his older brother in Ruseifa in September 2016.

The court declared the defendant A. J., 25, guilty of bludgeoning and stabbing his older brother to death while at their home on September 23, 2016, and handed him the maximum punishment.

Court documents said the defendant had constantly argued with his brother and “10 days before the incident he plotted to kill him.”

On the night of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant waited for his 38-year-old brother to return home around 11:00pm, “wore gloves and held an iron bar and the minute he walked in he struck him on his head with it”.

“The defendant continued to hit his brother with the iron bar and when he realised that he was still alive, he grabbed a switchblade and stabbed him 22 times then slit his throat,” according to the court documents.

The defendant then asked one of his neighbours to help him take his brother to hospital, the judicial source added, based on witness accounts and testimonies by the suspect.

“One of the neighbours volunteered and brought his vehicle, so the suspect asked him to open the trunk to place his brother in it, and he asked the neighbour to help him bury his brother,” the court maintained.

The neighbour was shocked, but pretended to go along with the plans and “asked the suspect to return to his house and wash himself so that they can go afterwards, and he immediately alerted the authorities”, according to court papers.

The defendant, through his lawyer, contested the Criminal Court’s ruling charging that he “killed his brother in self-defence since the victim attacked him”.

“The defendant loved his brother and had no reason to kill him. He was only defending himself,” the lawyer stated in his appeal arguments.

However, the higher court disregarded his claims stating that “the defendant wore gloves, a clear indication that he plotted the murder and also failed to prove that the victim attacked him”.

Therefore, the higher court maintained, the Criminal Court’s ruling is correct and the tribunal followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant to death. 

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Majid Azzab, Nayef Samarat and Hamad Ghzawi.

AMMAN —  Three family members were killed and two persons were injured on Thursday when their car collided with a military vehicle on a desert highway in Hasa, Tafilah, official sources said.

“A civil vehicle collided with an armed forces vehicle and the strong impact of the collision resulted in the death of the three family members and two injuries in the armed forces personnel,” a traffic official told The Jordan Times, adding that the cause of the accident is still being investigated and a committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the “unfortunate accident”.

The Civil Defence Department administered first aid to the injured before evacuating the bodies and referring the injured to the Hasa Medical Centre in Tafileh, where they were listed in a fair condition.

AMMAN — The Interior Ministry is scheduled to launch 11 e-services related to visas and residency on Sunday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Interior Minister Samir Mubaidin said these services aim to keep pace with the latest technological advancements and to benefit the public departments.

These services are part of the government’s plan to change into an e-government, which seeks to alleviate procedures for service recipients, control government expenditures and stimulate tourism through facilitating entry procedures, he added. 

AMMAN — The Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) has partnered with the Gendarmerie Department personnel to implement a campaign to cut power supplies and collect overdue subscriptions on some 100 subscribers, EDCO CEO Abdul Hafith Khalafat said on Thursday.

Khalafat noted that the 100 subscribers had refused to pay bills dating back to several years, and many of them had illegal connection to the power grid, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He added that dozens of these subscribers, who were sued, owe the company bills between JD1,000 and JD4,000, noting that the court issued rulings in favour of the company but subscribers still refused to settle their bills. 

AMMAN — The Islamist Al Sabeel Daily on Thursday announced that it will be published five days a week instead of seven.

The decision came as part of the daily’s future plan to improve its print version as the current system constitutes an “economic burden” on the newspaper since the weekend issuances do not have governmental and commercial advertisements.

The daily said that it is working on improving the quality of content and giving more focus to the online version.

AMMAN — The Resilience Through Tourism Summit (RTTS), an international conference that took place in Amman on Tuesday and Wednesday, has announced the winners of the world’s first International Peace Through Tourism Awards which have been launched to highlight global tourism’s contribution to peace and prosperity.

The new awards act as a benchmark to celebrate how far countries and communities have come since the Amman Declaration on Peace Through Tourism passed in 2000 at the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism's (IIPT) previous global summit, a statement from the RTTS organisers said on Thursday.

Jordan's hosting of the summit has given the Middle East a unique opportunity to showcase the considerable progress of peace through tourism in the region, according to the statement.  

A total of 28 nominations came from local businesses, destinations and NGOs. 

Petra National Trust and the Jordan River Foundation received the Peace Through Community Livelihood Enhancement Award.

Petra National Trust is an NGO that works in the conservation and sustainable management of national cultural heritage, with a focus on Petra  UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

"It has successfully coordinated preservation projects and studies on such issues as the Nabataean hydrological systems, biodiversity, the geophysical stability of the Siq, and the unique Nabataean wall painting at Beidha," the statement said. 

The Jordan River Foundation was established in 1995 by Her Majesty Queen Rania with the overall aim of empowering communities and promoting child safety. 

Starting with the Bani Hamida Weaving Project, which is now part of the Jordan River Designs Handicrafts Programme (JRD), a socioeconomic programme for women to provide employment opportunities that enhance their livelihoods, while developing their knowledge and skills in handicraft production and entrepreneurship.

The Peace Through Cultural Diversity Award went to the Jordan Trail Association, recently chosen by National Geographic Traveller as one of the world’s best tourism destinations. 

The association has introduced the 52 villages it passes through to the benefits of tourism, and tourism provided much needed revenue and employment to local residents. This year it resulted in direct spending of JD70,000 on local community engagement.

The Ecohotels (Feynan Ecolodge) of Dana Reserve received the Peace Through Respect of Sustainable Development and Ecological Balance Award.

"Operated with minimal impact on the environment, Feynan Ecolodge offers guests unique and authentic experiences while contributing to the conservation of Dana Reserve and helping the impoverished local community through employment and micro business development," RTTS said. 

All the staff at the Ecohotels are from the local community with 50 per cent of revenue benefitting the local residents and all electricity used by the Ecolodge generated by photovoltaic panels. 

Taleb Rifai, chairman of the IIPT advisory board and former secretary general of the UN World Tourism Organisation commented: “We received amazing nominations from such a truly diverse range of institutions across Jordan and beyond.  Every single entry demonstrated an exemplary commitment to achieving peace through tourism and the judges had a very difficult job determining the winners.”

The awards were hosted by Jordan Tourism Board and supported by Abdali group, Cachet Consulting, The Travel Corporation and Robin Tauck.

The Resilience Through Tourism Summit brings together key stakeholders from the private and public sectors to discuss strategies for recovery and developing resilience, brand management for sustainable growth and effective communications, according to RTTS website. 

AMMAN — The Jordanian documentary "17" presented a “source of motivation” to practise and follow football, not only for audiences of the film, but also for its director, Widad Shafakoj. 

In 2017, Shafakoj worked with HRH Prince Ali on her film, which follows the Jordanian under-17 women's football team as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016.

Before creating this movie, Shafakoj was not fully familiar with the sport.

"This movie was not only a tool of encouragement for my audience members, it encouraged me to maintain my relationship with football,” the Spanish football team fan told The Jordan Times in a recent interview. 

The documentary “17”, named after the age of the players participating in the competition, was screened as part of the Franco-Arab Film Festival at the Royal Film Commission in Amman on Monday. 

Held under the patronage of HRH Princess Rym, in collaboration with the Royal Film Commission (RFC) and the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), the festival, which includes screenings of films from Algeria, Egypt, France, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia, is featuring 11 free movie screenings from June 24 until July 1st. 

Shafakoj, a Jordanian documentary film director, said she utilises films as a way to express her opinions on the society in which she lives.

It took Shafakoj five months of shooting and around seven months of editing to complete the documentary. 

The 73-minute picture reflects the preparation period and challenges the national team members underwent five months ahead of the start of the competition. 

"Some players had to walk to the trainings, while others were trying to strike a balance between school and the tournament,” she added. 

Shafakoj was fascinated by the passion of the players that prompted them to overcome the challenges that stood in their way. 

"Instead of pressure, there was excitement among the players, because they were part of a historic event,” she added. 

The screening of the movie had a positive impact on families, the director noted. 

"It was inspiring for many families, who started encouraging their daughters to take part in this kind of sport,” she said with a smile. 

The movie started will be commercially released at Baraka Mall’s Prime Cinema, which will screen the film for a duration of one week, in cooperation with Arab Media Network (Abu Lughod studios). 

"17" is produced by Muna Fityani and distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions.

The film screened at several prestigious film festivals around the world before being released in its homeland, Jordan, including the Carthage Film Festival  in Tunisia, the 1st El Gouna Film Festival, the Muscat international Film Festival, ALFILM — the Arab Film Festival Berlin, the Arab Women Film Festival in Sweden, the Arab Film Festival in California, USA, Arabisches Film Festival Tübingen in Germany, and the Dubai International Film Festival.

AMMAN — A training bootcamp aimed at supporting local designers and fashion creators was conducted last week, as part of the creative design incubator Dezain Space in collaboration with the EU-funded Jordanian Action for the Development of Enterprises (JADE) project.

Twenty five local start-ups underwent an intensive five-day training, where they learned about a variety of topics ranging from business establishment to attracting investment.

“This bootcamp demonstrates the impact we can have in developing startups in Jordan and the thirst for such services in the creative industries. We’re continuing our support to startups with a number selected for incubation services — who are now part of our community,” said Dezain Space Managing Director Sima Najjar, who is also a specialist in fashion, technology and social development.

“We offer them a space to work, business support, mentorship, networking and access to investment critical for upcoming designers to grow, scale, and create an international footprint through sales and exposure,” she told The Jordan Times after the bootcamp.

Launched in January 2018, Dezain Space began after Najjar and entrepreneurs Rasha Barakat and Shamekh Bluwi realised the need for creative start ups to receive “the same push that their peers in the IT sector received from incubators in Jordan”.

One of the first platforms available for designers to develop their marketing, creative and financial skills, Dezain Space is supported by Zain Innovation Campus (ZINC) and Zain, and aims to enable talented and creative youth to turn their ideas into productive projects through various training and workshops, according to its website.

“One of the main purposes of the bootcamp is to help unleash each designer’s potential. It is a highly competitive industry, and, in order to make it, you need to have an interesting product with an unmatched quality,” explained creative director, Shamekh Bluwi, adding: “We encourage the designers to tweak their products, test them and sell them to know for a fact that they have what it takes to be a successful brand with a scalable business plan.”

“What surprised us and it’s something we’ve found out after the first bootcamp was over, is how we have created a network; an infrastructure of local designers who help and support one another,” Bluwi, who is also the co-founder of Dezain Space, told The Jordan Times on Thursday, noting “their aim now is to work on their designs and products with the help of the mentorship and guidance we offer them to go international.”

Implemented as part of the EU funded JADE project, which partnered with Dezain Space, the bootcamp aimed at providing further support to creative businesses in Jordan, enhancing their market linkages, and increasing their growth and exports capacities, according to a joint statement. 

“Jordan has untapped talent in the creative industries that are on a track to grow, but for that to happen they need our support. That is why we are partnering with leading incubators such as Dezain to back government efforts in providing support to entrepreneurs,” said Hamzeh Shamaileh, project manager for the JADE project, adding that “together, we will be able to overcome ongoing challenges — and not only that, but successfully compete in the region and internationally”. 

A three-year project aimed at contributing to the private sector the development in Jordan, JADE provides support to 100 SMEs and 60 innovative startups, offering them opportunities to increase their exports, maximise their productivity and create new employment opportunities, the EU website said.