Crown Prince tours Jordan Valley young women’s centre

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein on Sunday visited Deir Alla Centre for Young Women in Balqa Governorate where he was acquainted with the programmes implemented by the centre to develop the skills and abilities of young women in the area.

During the visit, the Prince toured an exhibition of handmade items created by the young women, inspired by the environment, culture and heritage of the area, according to a Royal Court statement.

In addition, the Crown Prince attended part of a seminar on “qualifying young women for the labour market and productive projects management”, in which participants discussed how to render creative ideas into small- and medium-sized productive projects, and how to market the products of these SMEs.

Also during the visit, His Highness stressed the importance of the Jordanian woman’s role in the development process, the need to enhance women’s participation in the economy, and empower them to start and run feasible money-generating enterprises.

He commended the “high-quality handmade products, noting that it is important to promote them to serve local communities,” the statement said.

Youth Minister Makram Qaisi stressed the ministry’s commitment to expanding the centre to create sufficient space to “institutionalise and improve the quality of handicrafts”.

He noted that the ministry is also committed to organising a handicrafts exhibition for the products of young men and women from various regions of the Kingdom at Al Hussein Youth City, and invite private sector representatives to have a first-hand look at the items as part of a new marketing strategy.

The centre, established in 2006, organises national and religious events, educational programmes and competitions, business and community entrepreneurship programmes, health awareness and human rights-focuses activities, among others.

In addition, the centre, whose membership base comprises 400 young women aged between 12 and 30 years old, serves the young women of Deir Alla District, through building a network of partnerships with governmental and civil institutions in the region, in order to empower them and enhance their welfare.

In remarks to the press, the centre’s director, Islam Manaseer, said that the facility provides a number of programmes and activities funded by the Ministry of Youth, including handicrafts courses, communication skills, personal management, creative thinking and decision making, in addition to English and other academic courses.

The Crown Prince is home on leave from a military course he joined recently in one of the military battalions in the UK, which concludes at the end of the year.