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AMMAN — The speech of HRH Crown Prince Hussein at the United Nations General Assembly was courageous, daring and comprehensive, political analysts said on Saturday.

The analysts described Prince Hussein’s “language and choice of words” as smart, indicating that it was inclusive and touched on critical issues and challenges affecting Jordan and the region.

Prince Hussein conveyed the aspirations and concerns of the young generation of Jordan and the region, director of the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies, Musa Shteiwi, said, describing the Prince as he delivered the speech as “self-confident and straight forward”.

“The Prince was able to lay down the issues and challenges of Jordan and the region in a very well-spoken and articulate way. His speech was coming from a young person who doesn’t only represent Jordan but also speaks out the concerns of the young generation in general,” Shteiwi said.

The analyst said that in his speech, the Crown Prince was critical of two “very important issues”.

He criticised the amount of money being poured into conflicts of the region but how very little is being spent on the refugees and employment, Shteiwi said, indicating that His Highness also spoke of moral issues and how Jordan did not turn its back on refugees despite the socioeconomic crises it is suffering.

“He was appealing for the international community to honour its commitments and responsibilities as international interest in refugees is dwindling,” Shteiwi said.

Senator and veteran diplomat Hassan Abu Nimeh said that the Crown Prince’s speech was comprehensive, describing his way in giving the speech as “full of class, confidence, and maturity”.

The Prince pointed out in the beginning of his speech the fact that he chaired the United Nations Security Council meeting in 2015 which resulted in the adoption of Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, Abu Nimeh said, indicating that the Prince represents an entire generation of young people who are keen on integrating the wisdom and values they inherited from the previous generations with the current reality.

In his speech, the prince described today’s reality as “unprecedented”.

“Ours is a world at an epic intersection, driven by the confluence of deepened globalisation and disruptive technologies. We are at the brink of a fourth industrial revolution, which is redefining how we function as societies and how we relate to one another as human beings. Our hyper-connected world is at once bringing people closer together and widening the divisions between them,” the Prince said as he addressed the General Assembly.

Abu Nimeh said that the speech also touched on the principles upon which the international law and the United Nations were founded and the crises which Jordan has been witnessing.

As Jordan has been going through one crisis after another, it did not let go of its moral responsibility towards refugees, the Crown Prince said. “I do not know of any other country in recent history that has gone through such an onslaught of crises and found itself surrounded by so many conflicts through no fault of its own.”

Political analyst and commentator Samih Maaytah said that Prince Hussein’s introduction of himself as a member of the “the largest generation of young people in history” was a smart choice.

“Prince Hussein spoke of a number of unconventional issues, he spoke proudly of Jordan and the humanitarian role it is leading worldwide. He addressed the UN General Assembly in a very special language and he chose the words of his generation,” Maaytah said.

“The prince had a very distinguished presence at the General Assembly, he presented Jordan’s political discourse in a different way and made the young generation of Jordan feel proud,” Maaytah said.

AMMAN — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Friday participated in the annual coordination meeting of member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 72nd session.

Participants in the meeting discussed several issues on the agenda, including the latest developments in the Middle East, anti-terrorism efforts and several organisational issues related to the OIC, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

Safadi stressed Jordan's ongoing efforts to stop all unilateral measures that Israel is trying to impose on Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, highlighting the Kingdom's continuous endeavours to safeguard Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem, under the Hashemite Custodianship. 

The Palestinian issue remains the core of conflicts in the Middle East, the minister said, adding that there will be no stability or security in the region without settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He added that such a state should live in stability and security side by side with Israel, according to international conventions and the Arab Peace Initiative that was reendorsed by Arab leaders attending Amman summit in March.

In remarks at a high-level meeting that discussed funding UNRWA, Safadi highlighted the importance of increasing the international support provided to the agency, so as to enable it to continue its vital role in serving Palestinian refugees until their issue is resolved in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, Petra reported.

During the Friday meeting that was held under the  joint patronage of Jordan and Sweden, the minister called for addressing the deficit in UNRWA’s budget, urging stakeholders to take concrete measures to ensure sufficient funding for the agency.

Safadi also took part in a ministerial meeting of the International Anti-Daesh Coalition, which was hosted by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in New York. 

In his remarks, Safadi reiterated Jordan’s full commitment to closely working with the other coalition members and in cooperation with the international community to fight and eliminate terrorism, which, he said, poses a threat to the entire world.

Also on Friday, Safadi and his Norwegian counterpart Borge Brende co-chaired a meeting on youth, peace and security that was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

During the meeting, in which UN Secretary General António Guterres took part, Safadi underscored the important role of youth in preserving peace and promoting development, as well as preventing violent radicalism, according to Petra.

He also highlighted the importance of empowering the youth, ensuring they receive better education, and creating a proper environment for their effective participation in building peace.

The minister also reviewed Jordan’s initiatives to promote youths’ participation in building peace and countering violent radicalisation. 

He also referred to the UN Ssecurity Council’s Resolution No.2250 on youth, peace and security.

Safadi announced the formation of the “Youth Champions” group comprising a number of states, which aims at ensuring continued political commitment to youth agendas of peace and security.

The diplomat also met UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meetings, with talks focused on efforts to bring about a political solution to the Syrian crisis, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Built during the 1920s, Qaser Al Pasha is a unique monument in Jordan as the era was characterised with a scarcity of sophisticated architecture, according to experts.

Located in Jerash’s Souf region, 55km north of Amman, the palace of Ali Pasha Al Kayed served as a local governing centre and a tribal gathering place, Yousef Zreiqat, a heritage expert said on Saturday.

The palace belonged to Ali Al Kayed, a dignitary from Souf, Zreiqat added. 

Now the palace is owned by the Tourism Ministry after acquiring it from Ali’s family more than 20 years ago, Zreiqat said.

The building consists of three stories: the ground floor was used as stables and kitchens, the first floor served as the gathering place and the third was the residence of the pasha, said Adulelah Kayed, a tourism expert.

The significance of the building comes from the architectural style, the era during which it was built, and the strategic location, which is close to Ajloun, Irbid and Amman, according to Kayed.

During its heyday, the palace hosted kings, politicians and renowned personalities, Kayed told The Jordan Times.

King Abdullah I visited Souf many times, and whenever he was in the area he was received at the palace, Kayed said.

King Abdullah I’s brothers Prince Feisal, Prince Ali and Prince Zeid also visited Souf and were received at the palace.

King Abdullah I hosted former Iranian president Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Souf, as well as the British high commissioner and the chief representative and Sultan Al Atrash, the Syrian revolutionary leader, Kayed said.

The stones of the palace were brought from the adjacent Roman town of Gerasa — modern-day Jerash — and some other ancient sites in the region, according to Zreiqat.

Zreiqat called for turning the building into a cultural centre that includes a museum, an archive and an exhibition for local produce.

He said that he has prepared a study to help the local community benefit from the monument, which would create eight permanent and 10 indirect job opportunities.

Jerash Tourism Director Mashael Khasawneh said that a restoration project is included in the 2018 budget.

Jerash’s Antiquities Department was authorised by the ministry to implement the project and establish a training centre to teach locals on restoring artifacts, according to Khasawneh.    

AMMAN — Jordanian audiences are getting a taste of Japan’s culture at the 6th edition of the Japanese Film Week, which kicked off on Saturday at the Royal Film Commission. 

Organised by the Embassy of Japan, in cooperation with the Royal Film Commission, the festival will run through September 27, showcasing a selection of renowned Japanese films centred around the theme of “youth and love”. 

A film will be screened each day of the festival at 8pm, with Japanese dialogues and English subtitles. 

“I Just Wanna Hug You” was the film chosen for the opening of the festival. The drama, directed by Akihiko Shiota, explores the love story between Tsukasa (Keiko Kitagawa) and Masaki (Ryo Nishikido), who face family disapproval while trying to build a family together.

The Japanese Film Week continues with “Tamako Love Story”, an animated feature directed by Naoko Yamada showcasing the changes a teenager goes through after her childhood best friend confesses his love for her. 

On Monday, audiences will be able to enjoy Daigo Matsui’s musical drama “Wonderful World End”. 

This feature follows the life of  17-year-old Shiori (Ai Hashimoto), who hopes to launch a career as a model and actress. 

Soon she meets Ayumi (Jun Aonami), a timid 13-year-old who is in awe with Shiomi’s interactive video blog, but Ayumi’s growing infatuation will become difficult to disguise, and their odd friendship will take an unforeseen turn after Ayumi runs away from home and quietly begins to infiltrate Shiori’s life and relationship with her boyfriend.

“Wonderful World End” was nominated for the Generations Award for Best Film at the International Berlin Film Festival, and for Best Feature Film at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. 

The teenage love stories continue on Tuesday with “Love for Beginners”, a drama directed by Takeshi Furusawa which explores young Tsubaki’s (Emi Takei) discovery of the first love. 

The festival will conclude on Wednesday with the screening of “Enoshima Prism”, a comedy featuring the time travels of Shuta (Sota Fukushi) three years after his friend Saku (Shūhei Nomura) passed away.

AMMAN — An art exhibition titled “Endangered land, People and Heritage” by American painter and Professor of Art History Jacqueline Taylor Basker was held at Bandak Art Gallery in Amman on Thursday. 

The event, held under the patronage of Amman’s Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh, marked her 10th anniversary in Jordan and the region. 

“Since my arrival in 2007 I have become more aware of many important issues and this provided subject matter for my artwork,” Taylor Basker told The Jordan Times, adding that travelling to visit endangered archaeological sites with her students from New York Institute of Technology and German-Jordanian University made her very “concerned about endangered heritage”. 

One of her inspirations for the paintings came from her frequent visits to Palestine and experiensing the Israeli occupation firsthand, she stressed. 

“What really angered me is that it was my tax money that was funding Israeli terror against the Palestinians,” the painter underlined. 

“If you are an artist concerned about political issues you cannot only sign petitions, make Facebook posts, go to meetings but you can make art to bring attention to humanitarian issues and injustices,”  Taylor Basker emphasised, stressing that despite her love for abstract art she is more driven by the political message her work conveys. 

According to Taylor Basker, many times in the past, the great art of the world has been a response to war and injustice and it has an important role to play, since images can be very powerful, more than mere words. 

 She previously exhibited her Mavi Marmara Flotilla installation with nine portraits of the victims killed by Israeli commandos, noting that she may add some sound media to the piece as well “to recreate the incident”. 

She recently added the 10th man who succumbed to injuries sustained during the raid. 

A painter and scholar, Taylor Basker graduated in history from Notre Dame of Maryland University, and received her PhD in Art History and Theology from Graduate Theological at Oxford University. 

She uses combined technique of acrylic painting and collage, which is a “combination of slow painstaking figurative realism with abstraction”.  

Her works address discrimination against Latinos, Palestinians, the plight of different refugees and dangers to cultural heritage sites. 

 Jordan itself is imperilled by the global warming and the constant influx of refugees which inspired her painting “Walking through Jordan Looking for Water”. 

 “As both an academic [art historian] and an artist, I believe we not only should protest injustice, but also attempt to research solutions and help people realise our common humanity through our shared religious values,” she said, adding that she is now conducting a research about peaceful coexistence between monotheistic faiths in the region, investigating the shared sacred geometric symbols between Christians and Muslims in monuments in Jordan and Palestine.   

“This will soon show up in my artwork as well,” she said.

TAIPEI — Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF), an international non-governmental organisation, has decided to establish its next branch in Jordan.

TFCF dedicates itself to award needy children and their families with welfare and benefits in Taiwan and worldwide, according to its website.  

CEO of TFCF Betty Su-chiou Ho made the announcement during a press conference held in Taipei on Friday.

TFCF, which started its sponsorship programme abroad in 2004 and helped 68,972 children in 34 countries, sent its coordinator to Jordan in April to evaluate the possibility of providing long-term aid to refugee children in the Kingdom with the assistance of Taiwan ministry of foreign affairs.

After five-month professional evaluation, in coordination with the Jordan River Foundation and the Jordanian government, TFCF decided to establish its new branch in Amman recently, the fund said.

As part of the evaluation, TFCF organised eight Taiwanese young volunteers to conduct Taiwanese cultural performances and handicraft teaching for children in refugee camps of Azraq and Zaatari in August. 

The two-week volunteer activity not only let Taiwanese young people know more about the Kingdom and the serious refugee issue that Jordan is facing, but TFCF also “gained first-hand information about the refugee children’s need and response in Jordan”, according to the fund.

“According to our experience, once the TFCF Board of Directors pass this case [which is expected by the end of this month], we’ll send our people to Jordan immediately,” Su-chiou Ho told The Jordan Times. 

The Jordan branch office will be established by the end of this year, and will start its formal operation in 2018, she added.

Initially, TFCF plans to provide financial support to 1,500 refugee children in Jordan through donations from Taiwan, the fund said.

“If all the aspects [our human resources and the local law, etc] are stable, we will gradually raise the number from 500 to 1,000 children annually,” Director of International Development Division of TFCF Max-Lin said.

“The [TFCF] Jordan Plan will be our first step in response to Syrian refugee crisis,” Su-chiou Ho concluded.

AMMAN — Jordan on Friday called on the Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan also called for bringing nuclear facilities under the observation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Chief Khaled Toukan made the remarks during the 61st IAEA Conference in Vienna.

Touqan, who headed Jordan’s delegation, said that bringing the facilities under observation would pave for a nuclear weapon-free region and contribute to enhancing peace and security in the world.

AMMAN — The Arab-African Economic Forum is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday with the participation of 53 countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Friday.

The participants, expected to be around 500, will discuss new opportunities to develop trade and economic cooperation between the Arab and the African countries.

The conference titled “The Roadmap and the Available Finance for Successful Investments” will witness the participation of ministers, senior officials, economists and representatives of business community, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Amman Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh has said that the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is working to ensure that all neighbourhoods of Amman are provided with roads and stairs, especially those with difficult topography, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

The service will provide an infrastructure for the delivery of more services to the public.

During a visit to Jabal Al Nadhif, the mayor directed GAM to conduct a survey of the site, a statement of the properties and the number of houses in order to study the possibility of opening a road to better serve the neighbourhood.

Also, GAM’s Agriculture Department continues to plant trees on median strips and sidewalks throughout the capital as part of a revamping, beautification and maintenance programme.

In September, the department carried out revamping works of seven sites including streets, junctions and gardens, according to Petra.    

AMMAN — Young people from across the board agreed that HRH Crown Prince Hussein said what world needs to hear and was speaking their own minds when he outlined the challenges facing the young generation worldwide, especially in Jordan.

In Jordan’s speech at the 72nd Session of UN General Assembly on Thursday, His Royal Highness said that he stood before the gathering not only as a representative of Jordan, but also as a member of the largest generation of young people in history, which is facing various challenges, foremost of which is unemployment, which, he said, requires drastic improvement to the investment climate, enhancing integrity and accountability, advancing the educational system and supporting young entrepreneurs.

Abdel Rahman Oleimat, a 21-year-old student who is still trying to obtain his Tawjihi certificate, said that he has a negative outlook even if he gets a degree because his generation is paying the price for all the instability and war around Jordan, manifested particularly in the refugee crisis. 

“As His Highness said, Jordan has done what is right and welcomed refugees with open arms. But that has had a toll on employment chances for college graduates and others”, Oleimat stressed, adding that a few years ago, regular salaries were better than now, but with the refugees competing for the jobs available, the pay is down.

The winner of the recent Youth Innovation Forum’s (Ebtekarthon) top award, Nasser Badareen, 18, looks at the refugee issue from a broader perspective. He said that he was dreaming of continuing his study abroad, but due to problems caused by some refugees in Europe and other host countries, his chances to have a visa diminished.

However, Oleimat and the other interviewees stressed that they do not have anything against refugees, and that they “wish everything good” for them and for their fellow citizens, but the world community is not helping, leaving both Jordanians and their guests stranded in the cold. 

Loay Al Sadeq, 22, has finished school and plans to apply for college when he makes enough money from his job at a gaming centre. He agrees that unemployment is the major challenge.

“If you ask anyone you know, ‘what are the problems you are facing?’ they will say it’s the lack of job or money and when the job is found, the income is hardly enough for a young single man to meet the minimal need, let alone a married one with a family?” he stated.

Against the backdrop of such a state of despair, Mohammad Al Qudah, a 17-year-old student, praised the Crown Prince for conveying the message “loud and clear” to the largest global gathering of policymakers. 

“I want to thank HRH Crown Prince for delivering the message in a logical way, because we are a country that lacks resources and doesn’t have a strong economy, so his message highlighted morals and values: He placed the world in front of a ‘moral mirror’, speaking on behalf of the Jordanian society”.

Qudah also agreed with the Crown Prince when he said that the world is spending about $1.7 trillion on arms and financing wars, but cannot offer support with less than $1.7 billion to support Syrian refugees and host communities.

It is not only about money and economic opportunity, according to Qudah, who said lack of the feeling of security and safety due to regional turbulence adds to the negative state of mind among youth.  

“I live in an area near the Jordanian-Syrian borders and I really feel threatened because of the war next-door. It’s an odd thing to feel that way, given that I have lived a peaceful life since ever in our country”.

The problem does not stop at lack of jobs and the sense of insecurity, the young people said in telephone interviews.

According to Raniem Al Dabobi, a student, 17, the declining quality of education and health, as a result of the pressures on Jordan’s public services and infrastructures, will create a generation that is poorly prepared to compete for opportunities in a world where competition is growing fiercer and bitterer. 

Oleimat further warned that such a generation, with no positive outlook or hope for a better future, would be vulnerable to extremists’ recruitment calls. “Young people have needs and if these needs are not met, they will be weak before any party that offers to give them what they are looking for, including terrorists.”