Second phase of ‘Integrity School’ project launched

AMMAN — Rasheed for Integrity and Transparency (Transparency International – Jordan) on Monday launched the second phase of the “Integrity School” project, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, through the Zivik Funding Programme of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), a German organisation for international cultural relations.

The second phase aims to create a generation of young people who understand the concepts of human rights, democracy, conflict resolution and combating corruption, among other skills that help build leaders who will bring change to society, according to the organisers.

The “Integrity School” project is held in Wadi Rum, and in this phase a new group of youth will be taught the concepts of corruption, its types and how to combat it, with a focus on the role of civil society organizations. It also aims to enhance their understanding of integrity, transparency and accountability, Rasheed said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The training will include sessions related to conflicts, their resolution, prevention as well as skills and tools to bring peace through dialogue, in addition to skills related to lobbying. These programmes aim at enabling the young generation to become leaders in their communities and create change, the statement said.

It added that there will be a session presented by Director of the Institutional Development Department at the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) Mahmoud Ismail, in which he will talk about the commission’s role and achievements.

The JIACC has recently launched an updated national strategy for integrity and combating corruption for the years 2020-2025. The commission’s work focuses on three main pillars: Consolidating the national integrity system, its principles and the standards of good governance, protection against corruption in all its forms, and enforcing law to prevent the corrupt from escaping justice, according to the statement.

The first phase of the project was held in October at the Aicha Camp in Wadi Rum under the slogan “Integrity is the basis of success and sustainability”, in which 18 young men and women aged between 20 and 28 have participated, coming from different Jordanian universities and youth groups in various governorates.

Executive Director of Rasheed Abeer Mdanat told The Jordan Times that “the project focuses on youth, who constitute the largest segment of the Jordanian society, and have a role in bringing change through understanding the importance of combating corruption and how it severely affects human rights”.

“Such skills allow youth to conduct their own campaigns and social initiatives to instil the concepts of human rights, democracy, integrity, transparency and accountability through their spirit of leadership and innovation,” she added.

Rasheed (Transparency International-Jordan) is a non-profit organisation that commenced work in Amman at the beginning of April 2014, and it represents the only official contact group of Transparency International in Jordan, according to the statement.