JRF, Aqaba Governorate Council sign agreement to empower women, youth

AMMAN — For the third year in a row, the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) and the Aqaba Governorate Council (AGC) have signed a collaboration agreement to promote trainings in women and youth empowerment across the southern port city.

Supporting the foundation's Community Empowerment Programme, the agreement was signed by AGC Chair Harb Aloweidat and JRF’s Director General Enaam Barrishi, according to a JRF statement. 

The agreement paves the way for interventions aimed at enhancing the capacity of women, youth and adolescents across a variety of social, economic, and technological areas under the AGC-funded Empowering Local Communities in Aqaba project. 

Through this partnership, the project will equip adolescents with tools for social innovation and entrepreneurship, while fostering a culture of creativity and providing safe learning environments. 

Economically, the agreement supports providing financial grants and diverse technical trainings to enable women and youth to establish their own projects in agriculture, handicrafts, and food processing. 

It also aims to create job opportunities for university graduates by building their capacities in graphic design and data management using AI tools.

The project aims at empowering communities across Aqaba, from urban centres to remote villages, by promoting innovation, sustainable development, and social change, particularly in shifting perceptions about women and youth's societal roles.

The project has so far funded 68 women-led businesses in various sectors including services and tourist enterprises since 2023. 

For 87 women, it offered a variety of training courses in content production, project management, and self-empowerment.

Also, over 1,400 children and teenagers benefited from the project via events held at JRF’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah Centre for Community Empowerment in Aqaba, while 15 Aqaba-based community volunteers received social innovation trainings, and went on to mentor over 3,200 children via the centre’s mobile social innovation station.