Dutch embassy roundtable hears from Jordanian youth

AMMAN — Tijmen Rooseboom, Ambassador for Youth, Education and Work for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on Monday met with Jordanian youth from different backgrounds for round-table discussions on their political, social and economic aspirations.

In the morning he met with a group of young men and women from the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy’s (NIMD) School of Politics in Jordan, ranging between the ages of 21 and 28, to discuss youth participation and representation in politics, the current educational system and barriers of entry to the labour market, according to a statement issued by the Dutch embassy.

Highlighting the fact that 70 per cent of Jordan’s population is under the age of 30, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Jordan Barbara Joziasse was quoted as saying, “Youth and future perspectives for youth are the main focus across all of the Netherlands’ interventions in Jordan and part of our Multi-Annual Country Strategy for Jordan (2019-2023).”

“Today’s discussions were very insightful. The different backgrounds of the young men and women at the table and the diversity in opinions really brought to light a number of issues and offered perspectives on the effective participation of youth in all areas of society,” Rooseboom was quoted as saying.

Rooseboom is visiting Jordan for a three-day mission to learn first-hand about the hopes and expectations of young people living in Jordan in regards to education, skills, jobs and political participation, the statement said, adding that during his time in Jordan, the Ambassador for Youth visited the Netherlands-supported, UNICEF-led Makani Centre in Jabal Al Naser in east Amman, where he was able to converse with Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi children that attend the centre.

He also met with young entrepreneurs at the Netherlands-supported SPARK’s School for Hope Incubator, and discussed incubation programmes, innovation and science for business with young researchers and participants at the Netherlands-supported PhiScience Institute, according to the statement.