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AMMAN — Four Jordanian designers have been invited to take part in Venice Design 2018, the largest international design exhibition alongside La Biennale di Venezia, a statement by Amman Design Week (ADW) said.

Basel Naouri, Ziad Qweider, Mais Al Azab and the Naqsh Collective sisters Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail, all of whom have previously showcased their work at past editions of ADW, will be taking part in the third edition of this world-renowned event.

Around 50 designers from 30 different countries have been invited to present their work and take part in various exhibitions between May 26 and November 25 in the historical location of Palazzo Michiel in Venice, Italy.

Naouri will exhibit his piece titled “Tonal Texture”, an interactive audio-visual installation produced exclusively for the event. A physical embodiment of sound waves through parametrical design, “Tonal Texture” will allow visitors to interact with sound in a new way, the statement said. 

For his part, Qweider will present his entire body of work showcased during ADW 2016, including two pieces of intricate embroidery inspired by traditional Palestinian embroidery titled “Face from Another World” and “Light & Hope Through Apartheid Wall”. These works reflect their own cultural specificity, as each piece tells a story about the struggle of Palestinians, according to the statement. 

Al Azab will display her mirage installation “The Desert Skyline”, an abstract and harmonious silhouette of a low-rise city composed with the horizon line of the desert as a contextual backdrop. The piece aims at challenging trending construction acts that bear no connection to their surroundings, the statement read. 

As for the Abudail sisters, they will display “Umm Qais” and “Umm Assarab”, two of their woks that comprise stone tables engraved with embroidery motifs on basalt and bottocino.

By participating in Venice Design 2018, these four designers join a growing list of designers from the Kingdom who are having their work exhibited abroad, such as former ADW participant, Rula Yaghmour, a Jordanian architect and designer who showcased “Kutleh” last month at the 58th edition of Salone del Mobile Milano as part of Milan Design Week. 

Yaghmour then described “Kutleh” as a “stone block” assembled from layers of found stone, marble, and granite that is used as a new medium to form various objects, the statement said.

ADW’s Director Rana Beiruti expressed happiness to see that “Jordan and its designers are being internationally recognised and invited to celebrate their cultural heritage and bring forth their take on various themes during design weeks, biennials, fairs, and tradeshows across the region and Europe”.

“These participations not only grow the Jordanian creative economy and open up new markets for its young creatives, but also reaffirm our goal of encouraging collaboration and the exchange of ideas, innovations and aspirations in a global context,” she stated. 

ADW aims to connect local designers with the world and promote Jordan as a hub for design that can help expose the Jordanian design scene to an international audience. The next ADW edition is expected to be in the Fall of 2019, the statement said, adding that, in 2018, ADW will be participating with local designers in design exhibitions abroad in countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Lebanon.

AMMAN — The idea to develop the Nabulsi complex in Hisban into a community centre came ten years ago from Oystein LaBianca, an American-Norwegian anthropologist who teaches at Andrews University in Michigan.

In June 2018, a group of students from 19 countries will take part in the field project of the Jordan Field School organised by Andrews University, which will also include the training of local communities by Jordanian non-profit company Sela for Vocational Training, according to LaBianca.

“Sela’s mission is to build capacity for local communities to effectively partner with professional archaeologists, local and international universities and relevant government agencies to protect, preserve and present the archaeological heritage in their backyards, as they also help crystallise ways for local communities to benefit culturally and economically from such partnership,” the professor underscored.

Italian architect and one of the co-founders of Sela, Maria Elena Ronza, helped design a strategy for the project and followed up with the Nabulsi family. “The late Sabah Abu Hudeib, our representative from the Department of Antiquities of Jordan at the time, preciously helped her to get in contact with the family,” she recalled, adding that the Nabulsi family is willing to dedicate part of their property for the use of the community.

A memorandum of understanding was signed to this purpose by an NGO from the village — Tell Hisban Cultural Association — Andrews University and the Nabulsi family representative. 

Ronza originally developed a ten-year strategy centred on the idea of implementing the project as a field school so as to transform the complex into a cultural and visitor centre, while training national and international students in conservation and restoration.

“The students from the Faculty of Architecture at Andrews University, in collaboration with students from University of Jordan and German Jordanian University worked to document the buildings of the Nabulsi complex and developed a master plan and a design proposal,” Ronza remembered.

The master plan developed by Andrews University includes five buildings with the following functions:Building A: Hall of Landscape and Agricultural History; Building B: Entrance Tower — Entrance to the Nabulsi Heritage; Building C: Hall of Kingdoms, Empires and Civilisations; Building D: Hall of Local Knowledge and Living Traditions; Building E: Institute for Cultural Heritage Research and Education

In 2016, Sela worked at Tell Hesban for the first time under the umbrella of Andrews University and implemented a two-week training programme for six members of the community, Ronza said, underlining that it has helped strenghten the partnership between Sela and Andrews University since. 

Sela also offers on-the-job training opportunities in documentation, architectural conservation and landscape rehabilitation as part of the process of rehabilitating the Nabulsi complex for the use of the community of Hisban, which are open to national and international students, as well as professionals interested in contributing to the development of the project, while acquiring hand-on experience in architectural conservation.

“Several foreign scholars have found in Sela a good ‘tool’ to reach out to their host communities for a productive cooperation on the ground,” the co-founder said, concluding that “we now have to prove that our concept can produce an impact at the community level, and this may need some time”.

AMMAN — None of the country’s housing developers has had a single licence issued to start a new building since the building bylaw went into effect at the beginning of May, President of the Jordan Housing Developers Association Zuhair Omari said.

“None of the country’s 3,400 housing companies has had a licence issued from the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) to start a new building, in protest to the building bylaw… we were promised that the bylaw would be changed, but nothing has happened so far,” he told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

The country’s housing firms have voiced their rejection of the building bylaw and said they are determined not to get any licences for new buildings until the bylaw is revisited, Omari explained.

“A meeting is expected to be held soon under the umbrella of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs where the bylaw will be discussed and we hope that the discussions will be serious and that the bylaw will be changed,” Omari said.

Last month, the housing investors held a strike to protest the bylaw while dozens of other investors cancelled their orders to purchase steel, cement and other construction materials.

The bylaw stipulates that housing apartments must be at least 110sqm in categories B, C and D, and 130sqm if classified in A zones, which, according to housing developers, would limit buyers’ options.

Under the bylaw, housing developers cannot build small apartments anymore, although the demand in the market is on apartments that are smaller than 120sqm, according to Omari, who said that the bulk of the demand is for apartments of 90 and 80sqm.

According to the association, 32 per cent of Jordanians who bought apartments in 2017 chose ones that were smaller than 120sqm.

Trading in the real estate sector declined by 7 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 to JD1.399 billion compared with JD1.505 billion during the same period last year.

The sector, which employs tens of thousands of Jordanians, has been witnessing slow business since 2015. The total value of apartments that have been built since 2015 to date and have not been sold yet is estimated at JD1 billion, according to the sector leader.

AMMAN — Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel on Thursday foiled a bank robbery attempt in the capital’s Sweifieh neighbourhood, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Public Security Department (PSD) spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said that the CID received a tip-off on a suspicious man standing near the bank, and a CID patrol quickly reached the location.

Patrol personnel identified the suspect who was carrying a briefcase with him. They arrested him and searched the case which contained two plastic guns, a mask and gloves, Sartawi noted, adding that the suspect confessed to his intention to rob the bank during initial investigation. 

The PSD extended its appreciation to citizens for their cooperation, security alert and their role in maintaining order, thanking the citizen who reported the suspect.

Thursday’s attempted robbery follows six robberies since the beginning of the year.

In April, Interior Minister Samir Mubaidin described the robbery cases on banks and money exchange shops as “worrying”, noting that they had become a “public concern”.

Mubaidin made his remarks during a meeting with stakeholders to discuss procedures to be taken to prevent bank robberies.

The minister stressed that bank robberies cannot be considered security faults, especially as security apparatuses always support security staff at banks. He stressed that some banks have not committed to security plans that were designed and approved after several meetings organised by the Interior Ministry with bank stakeholders.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Social Development has formed a national team to develop a 10-year plan aimed at moving from an institution-based system for persons with disabilities to a family and community based support service, ministry spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout told The Jordan Times, noting that “since the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in 2017, the ministry has initiated the necessary steps for the social integration of persons with disabilities in line with Article 27 of the law”.

According to Article 27, the shelter system for persons with disabilities must be replaced with a supportive system of integration services aimed at achieving the highest standards of self-reliance for individuals with disabilities, proposing progressive and temporary solutions and alternatives to be gradually implemented over 10 years.

“The Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) has been working hand in hand with the Social Development Ministry to develop the ten-year plan over the past 10 months, in cooperation with the UK-based organisation Lumos,” HCD’s Secretary General Muhannad Azzeh told The Jordan Times, explaining that the plan shall include outreach services, awareness raising programmes for the local communities, and training and capacity development initiatives for families.

“It is the right of persons with disabilities to live independently and it is our duty to provide them with the necessary facilities,” Ratrout said, explaining that the ministry has developed “a gradual plan containing practical items in order to move from a shelter system to an integration system, and our staff has undergone training programmes in the best practices towards integration”.

“The ministry provides services to 12,000 individuals with disabilities through day care centres, rehabilitation services, customs exemptions, domestic workers and others, while 15,000 persons with disabilities benefit from national aid,” the official highlighted, noting that the ministry is planning to expand its support services in the coming period, in accordance with the recently adopted law.

“But talking about alternatives does not only mean moving forward from day care centres, but also to include a set of measures and services that promote independent living and community integration,” Azzeh stressed, underlining the need for “social arrangements for small group homes where individuals with disabilities without a family could live, while being integrated within the neighbourhood and the community”.

Speaking in Amman last month at a lecture organised by the HCD, Lumos’ Chief Executive Officer Georgette Mulheir warned: “There are 80 years of scientific evidence proving that children are seriously harmed by being raised in orphanages and institutions which are, in fact, harming their health and development,” noting that children with disabilities living in institutions are often undernourished either due to shortages of staff or because some employees prefer these children not to put on weight.

 “As part of my work in low, middle and high income countries, I have found that you can provide family-based support services for 10 times more children with the same amount of money spent on one child in an orphanage,” she pointed out, citing the example of a baby living in an institution in Czech Republic who cost the same as 30 children living in families. 

Acknowledging that creating social change is “difficult” and that it might take up to 10 years to witness such evolution in Jordan, Mulheir said “it is possible”, voicing her hope to see Jordan lead the way in the Middle East in that regard.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national exports to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries have increased by 14 per cent including to the US by 13 per cent compared with same period in 2017, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

During the first quarter of 2018, the national exports to non-Arab Asian countries also increased by 12 per cent including to India by 40 per cent and to the EU countries by 31 per cent including to Holland by 12 per cent, while the exports to the member states of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) have declined by 11 per cent, including to Saudi Arabia by 12 per cent, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The figures also marked a “noticeable increase” in imports whereas the imports from the 14 member states of the pan-Arab free trade zone GAFTA have increased by 4.3 per cent including from Saudi Arabia by 39 per cent and from the NAFTA countries by 4.4 per cent including from the US by 7.7 per cent.

However, the Kingdom’s imports from non-Arab Asian countries and EU countries have dropped by 1.5 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively including from Turkey by 0.2 per cent and from Germany by 6.2 per cent, according to DoS.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Saad Al Hariri will be Lebanon’s prime minister for a third time, after winning the backing of a majority of MPs in official consultations on Thursday, the office of President Michel Aoun said. 

Hariri is expected to launch negotiations on forming a coalition government.

The post of prime minister is reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian power sharing system, and the Western-backed Hariri was the clear frontrunner as the country’s leading Sunni despite losing more than a third of his MPs in a May 6 election.

Hariri’s name was put forward by 111 out of 128 members of Lebanon’s new parliament during consultations with Aoun on Thursday. Aoun must designate the candidate with the greatest backing.

The new coalition government is expected to reflect the enhanced political position of the Iran-backed Shiite group Hizbollah and allies that support its possession of arms, which together won at least 70 of parliament’s 128 seats.

While Hariri won wide backing, Hizbollah MPs named nobody for the post. The group would cooperate “positively” with whoever was designated, Mohammed Raad, head of Hizbollah’s parliamentary bloc, said after meeting Aoun.

All Lebanese leaders have called for the rapid formation of a new government that will aim to revitalise a stagnant economy situation and address unsustainable public debt levels.

But like the outgoing Cabinet, the new government will have to balance out the interests of all the main competing Lebanese parties and may take time.

Hizbollah, which is designated a terrorist group by the United States, intends to secure three Cabinet seats in the next coalition government, an increase from the two portfolios it held in the outgoing Cabinet of 30 ministers, a senior official familiar with the group’s thinking told Reuters.

Hizbollah, which has to date held only marginal Cabinet posts, is also seeking more significant service-providing ministries in the new cabinet, sources familiar with its thinking have told Reuters.

Hizbollah also believes a Cabinet post should be allocated to one of its Sunni allies who wrested seats away from Hariri’s Future Movement.

The staunchly anti-Hizbollah Lebanese Forces party, which almost doubled its number of MPs to 15, is also seeking a bigger slice of cabinet portfolios.

Parliament reelected the Hizbollah-allied Shiite politician Nabih Berri as its speaker on Wednesday, extending his tenure in the post he has held since 1992. Another Hizbollah ally, Elie Ferzli, was elected as his deputy.

AMMAN — The second batch of injured Gazans arrived in Amman on Wednesday morning and were admitted to the King Hussein Medical Centre as part of the Kingdom’s support towards Gaza, following directives by His Majesty King Abdullah to provide immediate assistance and bring to Jordan serious cases for treatment.

A total of 22 wounded were admitted to the army-run medical facility, where initial surgeries were performed and a medical plan was designed to follow up on the cases, according to the director general of Royal Medical Services, Major General Muin Al Habashneh.

During a briefing to reporters, he said that wounded Gazans sustained injuries on different parts of the body, all of which were caused by gunfire. 

“His Majesty King Abdullah is in direct contact with us to follow up on the situation of the injured people,” Habashneh stressed.

Commenting on the role of the Jordanian field hospital operating in Gaza, he said that personnel at the hospital are working around the clock to help Gazans, enhanced by a unique convoy of different medical experts.

Habashneh noted that the Gaza hospital is open day and night receiving cases and can accommodate a great number of cases daily. 

“Medical experts who went there also work in the government medical hospitals and try to help as much possible,” he added.  

Moatasem Nuam, one of the wounded Gazans receiving treatment in the Kingdom, said he took part in the peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip and was “shocked” when he received bullets. 

“Jordan is known for its reputable of medical sector and we hope our medical situation gets better,” he added. 

Seventeen-year-old Mohannad Khaldi said he suffered a great deal of pain following his injury. “There is lack of medical equipment back home and not all medical fields are covered. I want to thank everyone who helped me come here to Amman,” he stressed.

Mujahid Abu Shaab, whose leg was amputated following the clashes that flared at Gaza border, said the difficult medical situation sometimes prompted him to buy medicines at his own cost. 

“We keep thinking about our situation every time. It is very important to receive medical help abroad. When I went out of Gaza, I was first psychologically healed and, when I arrived in the Jordanian hospitals, I felt very relieved,” he
concluded.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday discussed with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi the developments in the Palestinian issue and economic cooperation, a Royal Court statement said.

During expanded talks held in Cairo, the two leaders expressed satisfaction over the level of Jordanian-Egyptian ties and keenness on boosting them in various fields.

King Abdullah and President Sisi stressed eagerness to bolster economic, trade and investment cooperation, especially after signing a memorandum of understanding to establish a coordination council for investment cooperation between the two countries.

They highlighted the importance of sustaining coordination over various issues of mutual interest and regional developments.

The talks shed light on the Palestinian cause after the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem and Israeli violence against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Both leaders underscored the need to support Palestinians in their endeavors to achieve their national and legitimate right to establish an independent state withinthe pre-1967 line, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In this regard, His Majesty said that the protection of the Palestinian people and assisting them to regain their rights must be the top priority issue on the international community’s agenda.

The King voiced Jordan’s condemnation and rejection of the Israeli escalation and violence against Gaza.

The leaders stressed that the absence of hope for a just and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian issue would lead to further instability in the region and that Jerusalem’s issue has to be settled as part of the final status phase on the basis of the two-state solution.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Hani Mulki Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, General Intelligence Department Director Maj. Gen. Adnan Jundi, Adviser to His Majesty , Director of the Office of His Majesty Manar Dabbas and Jordan’s Ambassador to Egypt Ali Ayed, along with senior Egyptian officials.  

The Egyptian President hosted an Iftar banquet in honour of His Majesty and the accompanying delegation.

AMMAN — Zahra Abu Dalou is a visually impaired student at the Royal Academy for the Blind (RAB), who spends most of her day at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Lab, trying to invent devices that would ease up her life.

Abu Dalou, 11, has been using the STEM Lab for over a year and said it is “the most enjoyable time for her because she gets to work on electronic devices all the time”.

She smiled while displaying her device that included electronic circuits, and said “this is my safe guide while at home”.

 “I touch the device and I use it at home for multipurpose, including for electricity currents at various rooms,” she told The Jordan Times.

Abu Dalou said she was eager to show her device to Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania, who visited the RAB on Tuesday.

“We are grateful that the King and Queen visited us to learn more about our work. It is truly amazing to know that they genuinely care about us,” Abu Dalou stressed.

The pupil and her peers showed Their Majesties the projects that they designed and implemented at the STEM Laboratory for teaching the blind science, engineering, technology and mathematics, the first of its kind in the region.

Abu Dalou’s teacher and trainers Shatha Naqrash praised her for “her constant ambition to learn something new every day”.

“Zahra has brilliant ideas and I learn from her every day… we have a special bond and I deal with her as a friend, not a fifth-grade student,” Naqrash told The Jordan Times. 

The teacher added that Abu Dalou “has big capabilities such as understanding the subjects quickly and imagining what she is studying”.

“For me, it is as if she was not visually disabled and I am working with someone who can see and live a normal life,” she said, noting that Abu Dalou and other students’ attitudes have changed since the STEM Lab, which is funded by USAID, opened last year.

 “Zahra and the students became more confident because they feel that they can create something new and learn scientific subjects such as math and robotics in an easy and fun manner. We are preparing them for their future higher education,” Naqrash continued.

The teacher concluded by saying that she expects a bright future for Zahra. “She will most probably grow up to be a great inventor in Jordan, given the capabilities she has so far at this very young age,” she rejoiced.