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AMMAN — Awqaf Minister Wael Arabiyat on Thursday attended the graduation of preachers and imams from a course they attended at the King Abdullah II Institute at the Islamic Cultural Centre in King Abdullah I Mosque, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the ceremony Arabiyat said that the imams, preachers and religious scholars should “relentlessly” continue training to disseminate knowledge. He stressed that imams should play a major role in shaping people’s behaviour.

Arabiyat pointed out that the Ministry of Awqaf pays great attention to its preachers and imams and believes that moderate idelology, culture and science are key contributors to the advancement of the nation.

AMMAN — The Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) President Mohammad Allaf on Thursday met with members of national committee of military retirees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Allaf said that the fight against corruption is a national responsibility. The commission has a strategic assessment of the status of corruption in Jordan and a vision to take Jordan to 2025 in a corruption-free environment.

Allaf stressed that meeting with the national committee of military retirees comes within the framework of mutual communication and strengthening cooperation to combat corruption.

AMMAN — The conference on enhancing the role of civil society institutions in enhancing human rights concluded on Thursday.

Among top recommendations was establishing a joint council between the government and the civil society institutions, to followup on human rights cases, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The event was organised by the National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) under an EU project to support civil society institutions in Jordan.

Participants also recommended reconsidering laws related to human rights and public freedoms, and reviewing  the Cybercrime Law’s articles that allow detaining  journalists for cases related to publishing. 

AMMAN — Theeban Municipality has started producing its own garbage containers and light poles, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

The cost of a container used to be JD350, while the new ones will be produced for JD75, as it will be made by the municipality technicians, said Theeban Mayor Adel Janadbeh.

He said that the municipality has bought raw materials for JD1,000 and produced 22 containers. He added that the cost of producing a light pole will be  JD1.25 instead of buying it for JD7.

Janadbeh said that the move aims at saving the municipality’s budget, of which 70 per cent goes for salaries.

AMMAN — Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel have arrested two suspects for allegedly forging educational certificates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

A security source said that after receiving a tip-off, the CID monitored an unlicensed training centre which offered training courses for students, and convincing them that the institute had agreements with several local and interantional universities.

The source added that the centres promoted these courses on social networking sites and made students sign on bonds not to raise complaints against the centre.

The source said a number of counterfeit seals, computers and 26 forged certificates were confiscated. The two suspects were referred to the judiciary after complaints from 14 students. 

AMMAN — Local audience on Tuesday participated in a group discussion about the ways to prevent and reduce violence and discrimination in society, presented by former Minister of Social Development and founding member of the Society for Protecting Family Violence Victims, Reem Abu Hassan.

During the event, which was organised by the local news organisation Hybris Media, Abu Hassan explored the reasons behind the use of violence and the creation of systems of discrimination in society, asking "what can be done about it and what community based solutions can be found?"

Highlighting the efforts undertaken by Jordan and countries across the region to fight discrimination and gender based violence, the former minister stressed on the importance for the public to be involved in the societal change.  

"Sometimes, perceptions of certain social issues [such as women's status in society] take time to change … But it is within your hands to change the dynamics," she told the audience.

"Violence continues to be a big part of everyday society, with many incidents occurring in today’s communities and the media," said Cesilia Faustina, founder of Hybris Media, noting that "violence and discrimination have also been costing billions of dollars in prevention action".

Focusing on the topic of gender-based violence, an issue that she has been deeply involved with throughout her career, Abu Hassan stressed that it is tightly linked to the economic status of women, noting that continuous legislative change must be upheld to help solve these problems.

According to UN Women's latest figures, one in three women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in her lifetime — mostly by intimate partners. 

This number is even higher in the MENA region, with over 37 per cent of Arab women having experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, with indicators that the percentage might be higher. 

"It was really enriching to hear about the Jordanian legislation regarding honour killing, sexual assault and the establishment of women's centres across the country as this is something I had never really thought about before," said Phoebe Rossman, a 16-year-old American studying in Amman. 

According to the Gender Inequality Index Rank, Jordan ranks at 111 and at 134 in the Global Gender Gap Index Rank. 

Additionally, the Kingdom also faces a number of other violent-related crimes, with a homicide rate of 3 cases per 100,000 people per year, a World Health Organisation report showed. 

"In my home country — America — discriminations are a huge issue, not only in their physical manifestations but also through all kinds of violence [emotional, psychological, verbal…]. I am really interested in understanding how violent systems of discrimination lead to internally manifested oppression," Rossman continued.

Attendees from all walks of life shared their views on the rise of violence in society, discussing the reasons behind hate crimes and discriminative behaviours.

"For me, violence and discrimination come because of fear. I don’t believe the problem starts with hatred but rather with fear of the other," said Fadi Mdanat, a 23-year-old Jordanian, who added, "We need to make a change first as individuals instead of trying to change society."

"Seeing so many people tonight seeking change and willing to improve themselves really gave me hope and inspired me," he concluded, voicing more optimism in a change coming from grassroots movements than institutions.

For his part, Mustafa Najia, a Palestinian living in Jordan said: "Violence and discrimination in society only come from those who lack confidence and are seeking power from those who are weaker or less smart. I believe they try to hide their lack of self-confidence by being violent against others."

An independent media project launched in 2017 in Jordan, Hybris Media seeks to inspire and create a change and a movement through journalism, community discussions and online multimedia content, according to its website.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment is in the process of distributing a new guide on the environmental services it provides to industries, investors and civil society institutions, an official said on Wednesday.

The "Environmental Services Guide" identifies all of the services the ministry provides and details for the public and private sectors the procedures and criteria for receiving the services, ministry's spokesperson Isa Shboul said.

"The new guide seeks to inform investors, industries and the private and public sectors with the services the ministry provides and also to simplify the measures they need to follow to obtain said services," Shboul told The Jordan Times.

The guide provides information on 19 environmental services the ministry provides and is in charge of, such as issuing licenses to industries, receiving and handling environmental complaints as well as requests for the ministry's supervision over the transport of locally-generated hazardous waste, Shboul said.

"The ministry is now distributing copies of the guide to all sectors of society," he underlined.

The official highlighted that all of the services are now electronic, accessible via the ministry's website, where people can also file complaints on environmental violations.

"The guide seeks to serve and benefit all of the sectors, especially investors starting new projects," Shboul said, noting that the ministry frequently rejects licensing requests to investment projects that can pose pollution risks to the environment.

"Had an investor been aware of the requirements and procedures for obtaining a license, his project wouldn’t have been denied licensing," Shboul added, referring to a case when a certain investment project was proposed to be built on a land sitting on an aquifer.

The guide seeks to facilitate the ministry's services to recipients and also save time and effort, he underlined.

AMMAN — A social entrepreneur who prefers to go by the name “entrepreneur wannabe”, Kamel Al Asmar is very aware of the difficulties of establishing a social initiative in the Middle East, and Jordan in particular, most specifically tech-based ones.

Founder of Nakhwah, the first volunteerism network in the Arab world, the 33-year-old Jordanian has been striving to spread a culture of purpose-led initiatives which he considers as "a necessity for the region".

"The social media revolution of the last few years has exposed Arab youth to a lot of new information, fuelling a desire for change. Opportunities and education systems, however, continued to stagnate," Asmar told The Jordan Times.

Aware of the need to help youth get involved in the development of their country, he founded Nakhwah ("chivalry" in Arabic), a platform aimed at exchanging ideas and knowledge and promoting a culture of civic engagement among Arab youth.

"We support NGOs and initiatives with volunteer matching service, while giving social entrepreneurs exposure and enabling sustainable ventures to find funding opportunities," he said, noting that Nakhwah makes it easier for people to be informed about development stakeholders, projects and initiatives in the region.

Among the initiatives listed in Jordan, one can find Abshir, a project that provides mentoring programmes for elderly citizens and youth in Jordan; Bread For All, an initiative supporting underprivileged citizens by giving them fresh bread for free or Hakoora, a youth initiative that connects young talented people in the cultural, artistic and scientific fields.

"We want to connect social entrepreneurs, social activists and socially conscious companies so they can work together to enhance development," the young man, who was named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneurs in 2014, said.

Driven by the belief that the Arab youth still have a huge untapped potential, the entrepreneur sought to capitalise on their abilities to help them become change-makers in their communities. 

The Nakhwah network, which consists of several sections depending on what the user is looking for, offers an overview of many projects in fields as diverse as agriculture, disabilities, child care, nutrition, legal reform, among others.

Nine years after its launch, the platform is now about to be available as a mobile app, according to its founder who said: “We are currently doing a very thorough data validation process in preparation of the mobile version, which will have more engaging features to scale the network’s impact.”

"When they take part in the Nakhwah network, people get access to a comprehensive directory for social work in the Arab world," Asmar said, concluding "we have worked on making it simpler for everyone to find out more about the social and volunteering sector in the region."

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavusoglu on Wednesday highlighted the importance of continued coordination and consultation on means to address the repercussions of the US decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

During a telephone call made by Safadi, both ministers agreed that ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the pre-1967 lines is a catalyst for regional security and stability, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Safadi acquainted Çavusoglu with the outcomes of the meeting Amman hosted Saturday of the Arab League’s ministerial working group to discuss means to counter the US decision. 

They also agreed to unify efforts aimed at urging world countries to recognise the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the pre-1967 lines.

Safadi and Çavusoglu, whose country heads the current session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, also went over regional issues and Jordanian-Turkish relations.

Both ministers voiced satisfaction over the continuous development in bilateral ties at all levels, referring to the important outcomes of the summit meeting between His Majesty King Abdullah and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara last month.

Also on Wednesday, Safadi discussed the Jerusalem issues with Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi and briefed her on the outcomes of the Arab ministerial team’s meeting.

The two officials underscored the importance of joint action to ensure that the two-state solution is implemented, leading to the emergence of the independent Palestinian state.

ZARQA — The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday distributed vouchers to a total of 1,500 vulnerable Syrian female-headed households in Zarqa, with the aim of complementing the winterisation assistance provided by other non-governmental organisations and UN agencies. 

The distribution, which was held in cooperation with the Japanese NGO Nippon International Cooperation for Community Development (NICCOD), provided each family with two vouchers amounting to a total of JD70 to be redeemed at supermarkets. 

The distribution of the coupons comes under the project “Providing Humanitarian Support to Refugees and Strengthening the Border Management Capacity of the Government of Jordan to Enhance Border Security”, implemented by the IOM and funded by the Japanese government through a $612,650 grant.

During the distribution, Japanese Ambassador Hidenao Yanagi and IOM Chief of Mission Enrico Ponziani visited the NICCOD centre in Zarqa, where they monitored the progress of the project and met the initiative's beneficiaries.

“Being a host community is a big burden for Jordan, and that is why we [the Japanese government] wanted to help the Jordanian government and its people by providing the grant to fund this project,” Yanagi told The Jordan Times during the visit, adding that “the Syrian crisis is a very difficult issue that the international community must tackle, and we truly appreciate the readiness and the generosity of the Jordanian people in receiving and assisting so many refugees”.

“I am very happy to see that our financial assistance has reached the people from Syria, satisfying their needs and helping on providing them with a better life,” the ambassador added. 

Representative of NICCOD Yuiko Isoda thanked the ambassador for the donation, noting that Zarqa is currently hosting over 50,000 refugees.

Communications officer at IOM Laura Sisniega highlighted that this activity is the first collaboration with NICCOD for the UN agency, announcing a partnership aimed at providing direct assistance to the refugees in the Zarqa community. 

“In addition to the vouchers, we have created a monitoring system to check that the prices in the supermarket are correct and the cashiers are asking for the proper documentation,” she explained, noting that IOM “will also run home visits to measure the level of satisfaction, and provide the refugees with the means to complain in the event of any problem”.