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AMMAN — The Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) has partnered with Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPS) to conduct a research titled “Understanding and meeting the sexual and reproductive health [SRH] needs of Jordanian and Syrian youth”, focused on the design of a multilevel intervention aimed at enabling youth access to quality SRH services in the Kingdom.

Conducted in cooperation with the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of Jordan, the study’s objective is to meet the “most pressing” SRH needs in Jordan and to translate them into policy and programmes while facilitating a dynamic transfer of knowledge and research capacity, according to a statement published by HSPS on their official website. 

“Syrian refugees in Jordan face unprecedented challenges with regard to their sexual and reproductive health and rights [SRHR],” the statement said, stressing that “early pregnancy, child marriage, gender-based violence and sexual assault have become significant problems as a result of changing economic pressures, community dynamics and social norms”.

According to a 2016 study run by USAID, 42 per cent of married Syrian refugee women surveyed in Jordan’s host communities said they had never taken modern contraception or were considering discontinuing it due to fears about side effects. 

“Misconceptions about contraception are common among Syrian refugees,” practitioner at the Institute for Family Health Hiba Al Mallah reported to UNFPA earlier this year, noting that “there are also misconceptions about how contraceptives are administered, how they work inside the body and even their size”.

“In addition to concerns about infertility, some of them are worried that contraception causes a lot of harmful side effects,” the expert added, explaining that some of her female patients “imagine that the intrauterine device is really big and that it will damage and scratch the uterus”.

Implemented in the governorates of Irbid, Mafraq, Zarqa and Amman, the research study will make use of participatory qualitative methods and rigorous quantitative data analysis, responding to some of the most critical SRH needs facing young men and women living in Jordan with a focus on Syrian refugees and members of their host communities.

The policy, regulatory, and service delivery infrastructure, the factors that influence demand for and utilisation of SRH information and services, the quality of existing services targeting youth, and the development of strategies for improving youth SRHR services are the main objectives of the research project, according to HSPS. 

In the framework of the project, the Women Empowerment and Gender Unit at JOHUD on Wednesday organised a workshop bringing together several Jordanian and Syrian volunteers along with programme coordinators, where participants learned about the main objectives of the project, their role within it and the importance of SRH in their lives.

Running through August 2019, the findings of the study will be used to improve youth’s access to SRH services in Jordan by creating a “more equitable social environment” through several multilevel interventions, Harvard reported.

AMMAN — Municipal Affairs Minister Walid Masri on Saturday said that any construction exceeding the violation limit of 10 per cent should be demolished according to the provisions of the Cities and Villages Regulation Law of 1966, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During a filed visit to a number of municipalities in Irbid, Masri said that the new buildings system, which went into effect some months ago, came to control the construction violations and not for collecting money.

He also said that the government has paid JD70 million to cover debts of municipalities and extended them another JD30 million to support their infrastructure projects, Petra said. 

AMMAN — Jordan on Friday won the presidency of the executive board of the Arab League’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) for the next two-year cycle, the Jordan News agency, Petra, reported.

During the 24th ordinary session for ALECSO’s public conference in Tunisia, Education Ministry Secretary General for Administrative and Financial Affairs Sami Salaytah was elected the president of the executive board.

The meeting discussed several issues on its conference agendas including the director general’s report on the achievements of the 2017 programmes, the case of Jerusalem, the educational and cultural situation in Palestine, in addition to the financial budget and programmes for 2019 to 2020.

AMMAN — 60 employees from the Iftaa Department on Saturday concluded a training course they received over the past two months at the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Participants in the course received training on in presentation skills, television talk shows, video journalism, TV and radio production and media education.

JMI Dean Bassem Twaisi said that the institute is always keen on building bridges with the various departments, including the Iftaa Department, in order to develop their media tools and help them deliver their messages across. 

AMMAN — More than 100 Jordanian and Palestinian former scholarship holders of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation met this weekend at a two-day seminar at the University of Jordan (UJ), which also saw the participation of experts from Germany, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories.

Organised by the DAAD and the German embassy, the seminar is one of various opportunities the DAAD offers to stay in touch with former students.  

“DAAD offers many chances and opportunities for their alumni to keep in touch and expand the network. This seminar is an occasion to intensify the contact within the region and to Germany,” Dorothea Rüland, secretary general of the DAAD, said at the opening ceremony.

There are around 30 institutional partnerships between Jordanian and German universities or collaboration projects — also beyond the German Jordanian University (GJU) — and the DAAD is very interested in extending these activities, Rüland added.

“GJU is a major partner and we feel the impact it has on young people’s interest in coming to Germany for their studies. But we would like to also encourage the alumni to look into the possibilities these partnership programmes offer for the German-Jordanian academic exchange. Partnerships are what our German universities are interested in, partnerships for curriculum development or partnerships in management issues,” the secretary general said.

German Ambassador Birgitta Siefker-Eberle said that a considerable portion of the German Federal Government’s culture and education budget is being spent on international academic cooperation and research.

“The Federal Foreign Office’s share alone amounts to 250 million euros per year. Scholarship programmes account for the bulk of this budget. thirty-five thousand scholarships are awarded annually to foreign students and scientists through funding from the Federal Foreign Office for postgraduate studies and research in Germany. Most of them via DAAD,” the ambassador said.

This is perfectly justified as scholarship programmes are true investments in the future; the future of each single recipient of the scholarship, but also the future of the whole society, Siefker-Eberle stressed, noting that “with scholarships we do not only train and promote the talents so desperately needed in the 21st century. We also promote cultural tolerance and intellectual curiosity through the academic exchange and joint learning and research of gifted young people”.

The seminar included two keynote speeches and various lectures, panel discussions and workshops about issues which are relevant for Jordan and the whole region. 

Keynote Speakers were Professor Grudrun Krämer from the Free University of Berlin and Professor Musa Shteiwi from the UJ. 

Professor Krämer, who is one of the best known German Islam Scientists, gave a lecture about Regional Challenges seen from a European Perspective, the statement said. 

While Shteiwi, the director of UJ’s Centre for Strategic Studies, focused on political challenges seen from a regional perspective. 

The last major alumni seminar in Jordan took place in 2006. The cooperation between the DAAD and Jordan began in the 1960s. Today, 200 Jordanians and Palestinians receive long-term funding from DAAD, either in Germany, mainly for their PhD studies, or in Jordan doing their Master’s, according to the statement. 

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, an institution dedicated to supporting scientific excellence and innovation, has supported 30 Jordanian scientists since the 1980s.

AMMAN — “Jameed and Ghee Festival”, held on Friday, was more of a mix of preserving culture and enhancing sustainable development rather than merely showcasing foodstuff, according to visitors.

Jameed is a fat-free and rock-hard balls of salted yoghurt used as the main ingredient of mansaf, Jordan’s national dish.

On Friday, the Hashemite Fund for the Development of the Jordan badia (HFDJB), under the patronage of President Sharifa Zein Bint Nasser, held the fourth iteration of the festival, which aimed to promote products of charitable and cooperative societies specialised in making dairy products.

Some 32 societies from southern, central and northern badia regions took part in the one-day event, showcasing their dairy and other traditional bedouin food products at the King Hussein Park in Amman, Shehadeh Abu Hdeib, vice president of the HFDJB said during the opening ceremony.

Fawzi Haddad, a resident of Amman, said that the event is important and productive as it helps people from “remote” areas widen their base of customers, thus enhancing the sustainability of their enterprises and improving their economic conditions.

“I saw it on TV and I rushed to the location to enjoy the traditional bedouin atmosphere and buy some original dairy products,” he told The Jordan Times.

Participating for the third time, Jamila Al Jazi, from the Southern Badia, said that her society used to face difficulties marketing its products. “HFDJB has helped our society improve the quality of its products and packaging.”

“Through the festival we have increased the number of clients, including consumers and traders, who buy from us at the society or by delivery,” Jazi added.

For Jafnah Society, their first participation was a “great” chance to exhibit their products outside the Northern Badia region for the first time.

Samia Al Jbour, from the Central Badia, said that the HFDJB has helped her society participate in many other events, which enabled the society to reach a larger number of costumers.

Jbour’s pavilion was distinguished for showcasing, beside foodstuff, the “first camel-milk soap”.

“We were the first to manufacture the soap. We have trained many local women on making it and other products, which enabled them to find jobs and support their families,” she added.

Wafaa Abu Rassaa, a loyal yearly visitor, said that she waits for the festival every year to buy dairy products that are “trustworthy, clean, and tasty”.

The festival brings to Ammanis “trustworthy” and fresh products made by local women that live in regions far from the capital, she added.

HFDJB said that all of the showcased food products had passed laboratory tests for safety and ingredient authenticity. 

In addition to the foodstuff exhibition, the festival included live cooking of traditional bedouin meals such as traditional bread shrak (thin pan bread), rashouf (a broth made of jameed and lentils), and lazagyat (sugar-coated bread).

It included music performances using rababah (the bedouin single-string violin) and henna arts, all done inside a traditional bedouin tent. 

AMMAN — The UNESCO Amman office on Thursday celebrated the annual World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) with a roundtable discussion on this year’s WPFD global theme of “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law”.

The event, which gathered representatives of the judiciary, legal professionals and government officials, aimed to provide a platform for various stakeholders to “discuss the interplay between media, the judiciary and the rule of law, within the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, a UNESCO official told The Jordan Times. 

UNESCO Representative to Jordan Costanza Farina opened the sessions, saying: “World Press Freedom Day serves to emphasise the importance of free and independent journalism for advancing the 2030 Agenda that Jordan, like all other countries of the world, endorsed in September 2015.”

Marked annually on May 3, WFPD aims to “celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, evaluate press freedom, defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession”, according to the UNESCO website, which highlighted this year’s importance as the 25th anniversary of the celebration.

Speaking at the event, Judge Ghazi Huweimel chief of Amman Court of First Instance, outlined the strategy of the Judicial Institute of Jordan which trains judges and diploma students, stressing the importance of cooperation with national and international institutions to expand the training programmes on freedom of expression.

During a session titled “Judicial Trends in Addressing Media Cases in 2017 and 2018”, Judge Amal Abu Ubaid of the Amman Court of First Instance discussed how the press and publication chamber, a specialised court room, has contributed in improving legal practices to support freedom of the press in the Kingdom.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani noted: “Jordan has advanced in press freedom as a result of the strict application of the laws and media legislation,” highlighting the independence of the judiciary as “one of the critical foundations of the Jordanian state and its role in defending freedom and the values of society”.

“It is especially importantto have specialised judges in press and publication, and to define a standardised media legislation,” said journalist and former MP Kholoud Khatatbah, as she highlighted the role of the media in supporting the independence of the judiciary. 

Khalid Khlaifat, media lawyer, then presented a draft impact assessment on challenges and opportunities of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency-funded capacity development activities implemented by UNESCO for the Jordanian judiciary. 

Erik Ullenhag, Ambassador of Sweden to Jordan, joined the roundtable, noting that “freedom of expression and freedom of the press have strengthened the judicial system, making it more effective”. 

The event concluded with recommendations including the importance of media coverage of public trials to bring public opinion cases into the spotlight and showcase the greater role of the  judiciary in protecting the freedom of expression. It also called for the establishment of an advisory committee of judges and lawyers to analyse the best practices of the legal decisions, and present the recommendations to support the drafting of the laws and amendments. 

Participants stressed the importance of organising exchanges to share experiences on the definition of privacy and support specialised media training for judges on media freedom and professional ethics.

The celebration was co-sponsored by the EU-funded “Support to Media in Jordan” project, represented by EU official Egidijus Navikas, who stressed the union’s “firm belief in the power of the judiciary system in supporting freedom of expression”.

AMMAN — A Peace Light celebration was held on Friday at the Church of Baptism within the framework of an evening titled, “Jordan, the Land of Peace”.

“Lighting the Candles of Peace’’ event, which was held at the the Church of the Baptism of Jesus Christ on the bank of the Jordan River, was organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in cooperation with the Baptism Site Commission.

In a statement to The Jordan Times, event organisers said that the celebration was attended by Tourism Minister Lina Annab, heads of churches, a number of ambassadors of friendly countries, and large number of people from various parts of the country.

Annab was quoted in the statement as saying that the event aimed at conveying a message of peace, love, brotherhood and co-existence from Jordan to the world. 

“I stand before you to confirm to you and to the world that Jordan’s King, government and people convey a message of peace and love. We chose to have this celebration coincide with the Marian Month as well as with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan in a few days to tell the world that Jordan is a holy country which celebrates plurality and carries the message of comprehensive brotherhood and mutual respect among its entire people.”

Delivering a speech during the celebration, Director General of the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media Father Rifat Bader said that the event was meant to reiterate Jordan’s status as a land of dialogue, peace, harmony and co-existence.

“In May 2009, when the leader of our country stood next to the head of the Catholic church, Pope Benedict XVI, to lay the foundation stone of this church… it was a clear and explicit declaration that the world’s certainty was corroborated by the fact that we were experiencing a unique situation namely, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan or rather Jordan, the land of peace. It also demonstrated that we have a wise leadership, namely the Hashemite leadership which acquires religious and historic legitimacy, and that our king is the king of dialogue and peace,” Father Bader said.

The celebration included hymns performed by the Fountain of Love Choir, including a hymn titled “It is time for Peace”, which was performed in cooperation with the Caritas Jordan, as well as a film featuring the visits carried out by senior political and religious figures to the Baptism Site, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The concluding conference of the “SHABAB 2250” project related to the UN Security Council’s adoption of the resolution 2250 on youth, peace and security is set to kick off on Monday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Organised by I-Dare for Sustainable Development, the ceremony will be held under the patronage of the government coordinator for human rights and attended by EU ambassador to Jordan with the aim of reviewing the recommendations achieved by the project over the past one-and-a-half-years with regard to raising awareness on the resolution 2250 among youth and stakeholders 

Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, which was adopted in December 2015 following HRH Crown Prince Hussein’s speech as the chair of the United Nations Security Council meeting in 2015, aimed at fostering the youth participation in building and maintaining societal peace.

I-Dare General Manager Iyad Jaber said that the 12 sessions were held in various governates across the Kingdom to introduce the project, witnessing the attendance of 449 male and female participants.

The organisation also launched an online awareness campaign on the resolution 2250 and the importance of its implementation, Jaber said, adding that the the project’s Facebook page reached out to nearly one million users as the organisation created more than 100 media items varying between info-graphics, short videos, and long Arabic articles, which were also published on its alternative platform www.idareact.org

I-Dare for Sustainable Development is a non-profit and non-governmental Jordanian organisation, established in October 2013. The core of I-Dare actions is based on social marketing from early stages of idea development to the successful achievement of the desired impact, according to the organisation’s website.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday sent a cable of congratulations to the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad on assuming the office of the prime minister of Malaysia, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In the cable, the King stressed Jordan’s keenness to further strengthen relations of friendship and cooperation with Malaysia in various fields to serve the common interests of the two countries and issues of the Islamic nation.