EU launches regional NGOs consortium programme for youth unity

AMMAN — A group of leading relief organisations has launched a two-year project funded by the European Union in response to the Syrian crisis, aiming to alleviate tension between refugees and host communities in Jordan and the neighbouring countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday. 

Dubbed "Youth Resolve", the project seeks to reduce the threat of extremism among the youth by providing them with training in employability skills, educational activities and clubs and committees to bring youth from different backgrounds together.

A number of institutions are participating in the project including Generations For Peace (GFP), Questscope, World Vision, Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) and Islamic Relief, among others.

The EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, also known as the "Madad Fund" is financing 95 per cent of the total cost of the project (12.8 million euros), with the remaining 5 per cent being covered by the CAFOD, Islamic Relief Worldwide and World Vision.

In Jordan, GFP, Questscope and World Vision will introduce programmes focusing on informal education, remedial classes, livelihoods and ways to support young people.

Head of the Youth Resolve consortium Alexis Adam de Matharel said: "Youth usually flee violence in Syria only to find new forms of social conflict and troubles in their new country," adding that "the influx of millions of refugees has caused pressure, not only on the infrastructure, but also on society, fragmenting it into several parts through increased regional tension".

While this situation requires huge quantitative measures to cover the immediate financial needs of refugees, their social and emotional needs are often disregarded, de Matharel explained, urging the relief organisations participating in the project to focus on the root causes of the problems rather than the symptoms.

Michael Kohler, Director for the Neighbourhood South at the European Commission's Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, said that this programme aims to unite refugees and youth from host communities to form new committees and social clubs across the region. 

Some 100,000 youth aged between 9 and 25 years old will receive career skills and educational training throughout the region, ensuring constructive interaction among the new generation, he concluded.