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AMMAN — The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on Wednesday held a workshop to discuss ways of improving the World Friends Korea (WFK) programme with their local partners in the Kingdom and to introduce activities to potentially new partner organisations. 

WFK is the Korean government’s overseas volunteer group, which sends volunteers to developing countries to share their expertise with local residents. 

The workshop was opened in Amman by Korean Ambassador Lee Bom-yon, who expressed his gratitude to the participants’ support to the programme, highlighting that “over 200 Korean volunteers cooperated with 70 Jordanian institutions over the past 11 years”.

For his part, KOICA Country Director Byun Sook-jin announced that Jordan will be hosting a total of 20 KOICA volunteers by December. 

“We are here today to look into our volunteer programme and ways to increase the efficiency and satisfaction over the WFK. We are ready to listen to your enquiries, concerns and petitions regarding the continuation of our cooperation,” the director said. 

Byun told The Jordan Times that KOICA is aiming to send 30 new volunteers to the Kingdom by 2018, noting that Jordan was chosen as the destination for volunteers in the Arab region “for the sense of security and stability that the country provides despite the regional turmoil”.

Regarding the areas where the programme is more active in Jordan, the director explained that “education is one of the most targeted sectors in the Kingdom because, after visiting the public schools, we felt like the offer in subjects such as arts or physical education was not enough, and we wanted to fulfil the educational needs in this curricula”.

The WFK programme was introduced to potential partners by programme manager Inseong Kim, who outlined its mission to “contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, strengthen mutual understanding and friendly ties between Korea and partner countries, and foster global citizens through volunteerism”.

Kim also introduced the activities conducted in Jordan, noting that KOICA volunteers are present in the governorates of Irbid, Ajloun, Balqa, Amman, Petra and Aqaba. 

Kim Miah, a Korean language professor at the University of Jordan, Kim Sharon, a social worker at the Ajloun centre, and Lim Jisun, a physical therapist at the Zay Centre in Balqa, were some of the volunteers currently working in Jordan present at the workshop. 

During the discussions, local partners exchanged a series of ideas to improve the programme, pointing out to the challenges posed by the language barrier between volunteers and host communities as well as the mismatching between organisations’ expectations and the volunteers’ scope of work.

Programme manager Baek Jo presented the satisfaction surveys on KOICA’s WFK programme, noting that the organisation performs various types of evaluation in order to “secure accountability, achieve better development and meet the goal of contributing to improve the life of those in need through sharing volunteers’ knowledge, skills and experience”.

He highlighted that KOICA has recently implemented a regular call counseling service for WFK partners, and a fast-reach hotline for the mediation of issues between volunteers and host organisations.

AMMAN — Students from Jordanian universities are having an opportunity to experience life after college.

“Darb Programme”, a national initiative by “LOYAC Jordan”— a non-profit organisation — targets university students across the Kingdom through workshops and internships in public and private companies, Hamza Tal, the communications and media specialist at LOYAC, told The Jordan Times over the phone on Wednesday.

Established in 2008, “LOYAC Jordan” projects seek to develop skills of youth in Jordan. The “Darb Programme” was launched in 2011, Tal said.

Held in cooperation with the King Abdullah Fund for Development (KAFD), the programme aims at strengthening the students’ employment opportunities, he said.

Around 1,100 students took part in Darb skills training, and 750 of those were introduced to internship opportunities, he added.

“We are related to almost 211 companies from both the public and private sectors,” Tal said.

Marah Seba’i, a 20-year-old banking and finance student at Al al Bayt University, said that she heard about the programme through friends, who were also participants in the programme, and that the registration process was “very simple”.

“We had a two-day workshop, and it was during off days, and after that we had a volunteering initiative during Ramadan, providing food supplies to families in need in Irbid,” she told The Jordan Times over the phone.

“Darb programme gave me a great opportunity to intern at a local bank for about a month and a half, with free transportation provided by Darb and the bank,” she said.

She added that the internship “greatly benefited” her, as there is a difference between theoretical courses and gaining practical knowledge outside classrooms.

Bashayer Tayeh, who is also a banking and finance student at Al Yarmouk University, said that she came to know about the programme through Facebook.

“Before my experience with Darb, I used to study but didn’t understand some subjects. After completing my internship, I’m studying with full understanding of the subjects,” she said.

“I’ve learnt to deal with various types of people, respect the value of time, and how does it feel to go on a full-time job like other employees,” she added.

“I suggest to my fellow students to be part of this programme as they will greatly benefit from it,” she noted.

“We are now in the ‘Darb 1’ phase, we have ‘Darb 2’ and ‘Darb 3’ coming next, and the last one is for preparing us for employment after graduating,” both Seba’i and Tayeh stated.

Tal said that the graduation for the latest batch of students is scheduled to be held on November 25.

“LOYAC Jordan has multiple initiatives and programmes which are all focused on training university students and preparing them for the future,” Tal stated.

AMMAN — HH Prince Mired, chairman of the Hashemite Commission for Disabled Soldiers, has honoured the national team of the injured soldiers after their participation in the international adaptive multi-sport event Invictus in Toronto city in July, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the ceremony, the Prince commended the team for its performance in the competition. He called on the team members to exert more efforts to maintain the success and build on it. 

AMMAN — Wasfi Ayyad presented his credentials to Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome as the Kingdom’s extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to the Republic of Ethiopia, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday.

Ambassador Ayad conveyed the greetings of His Majesty King Abdullah to President Teshome, stressing the depth of relations between the two countries and Jordan’s keenness to develop bilateral cooperation. The Ethiopian president praised Jordan’s policy under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, and expressed his appreciation of the opening of a Jordanian embassy in Addis Ababa.

AMMAN — Tourism revenues in the first 10 months of 2017 increased by 12.7 per cent, up to $3.9 billion (some JD2.7 billion), compared to $3.46 billion (some JD2.45 billion) in the same period of 2016, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced on Wednesday.

CBJ, in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, said that the increase was mainly due to a 8.9 per cent rise in the total number of tourists compared to the same period last year. In October alone, the Kingdom’s revenues from tourism grew by 18.5 per cent, reaching $366.6 million (around JD259.9 million), compared to October 2016. 

AMMAN — Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Tweisi on Wednesday received a Kuwaiti media delegation headed by Director General of the Kuwaiti Information Ministry Saad Al Ajmi.

The minister voiced his appreciation of Kuwait’s financial support to the Jordanian Student Fund, which stood at JD41 million over the past four years, adding that it helped in raising the number of students studying at Jordanian universities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

For his part, Ajmi expressed appreciation of the Higher Education Ministry’s attention to Kuwaiti students at Jordanian universities. The delegation’s visit to Jordan aims at checking on projects financed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in the Kingdom.

AMMAN — Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry Zeid Lawzi on Wednesday met with his Italian counterpart Elisabetta Belloni and an accompanying delegation over means to develop bilateral ties in the economic, cultural and scientific fields.

The two sides discussed possibilities of holding an economic forum between the two countries to promote Jordan as an investment destination, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Balloni granted Lawzi the Great Cross Knight Medal in recognition of his efforts in boosting Jordanian-Italian ties during his mission as the Kingdom’s ambassador in Rome.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Wednesday received a copy of the National Centre for Human Rights’ (NCHR) report on the condition of human rights in Jordan in 2016.

Tarawneh received the report during a meeting with NCHR Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mohammad Bakhit, and Commissioner General Mousa Burayzat, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Tarawneh pledged to help in finding solutions to human rights issues in the Kingdom, adding that the economic situation has had negative repercussions on all aspects of life including human rights. He stressed that the House will study the report before referring it to specialised committees.

Bakhit said that the report included issues related to overcrowding in prisons, courts and hospitals, in addition to registering violations to public freedoms and violence against women.

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday sentenced six defendants convicted of promoting Daesh ideologies with sentences ranging up to 10 years of hard labour.

The court convicted two brothers with promoting ideologies of a terror group and sentenced them to a two-year prison term each with temporary hard labour, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The court convicted a secondary student of attempting to join armed groups and terrorist organisation, and sentenced him to two years with hard labour, after shortening the sentence taking into account his young age. SSC ruled that three suspects were not responsible for the charges levelled against them.

AMMAN — Civil Defence Department (CDD) personnel, supported by a Royal Air Force helicopter, on Wednesday rescued two climbers, who were stuck on one of Wadi Rum’s mountains.

The two climbers, who were found at Jabal Rum near the Nabataean temple, were reported to be in fair condition, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.