UNICEF honours Jordanians selected to compete at international competition

AMMAN — UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge on Wednesday held a celebration for Jordan’s two winning teams, which were selected as national finalists to move on to its global competition and receive financial support and mentorship to turn their ideas into reality.

Generation Unlimited, a new challenge by UNICEF, aims to connect every young person with a quality education, training or employment by 2030, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

After a nationwide search last year, Generation Unlimited announced the two teams made up of young people aged 14-24, which will go on to compete at the international finals.

Bully Free, an app designed by one of the teams, hopes to “build a support system” for school children who are bullied, according to Farah Qonaish, one of the team’s members.

The mobile application was designed to support victims of bullying through referrals to online counselling, as well as provide a platform to report incidents to school personnel. It also seeks to engage with perpetrators as a preventative measure, Qonaish told The Jordan Times.

“We probed into why teenagers often skip school. Some said they had an issue with a teacher or there was a school regulation they wanted to avoid, but others did it to avoid bullying,” Qonaish said. “Bullying was the aspect we could make a change in.”

As well as being shortlisted, each project won $1,000 in funding and mentorship to grow their ideas. 

The teams were selected by the Ministry of Youth, UNICEF and the Jordan River Foundation. The global winners of the challenge will be announced on April 12, according to the statement. 

The second project, called Volunteers with Disabilities, was created by a group of young people from the northern governorates. 

The team’s idea also included an application; one that matches people with and without disabilities to volunteer opportunities in their communities.

 “At our university, we had a student on a wheelchair who had a hard time getting to her classes. Someone suggested we create a Whatsapp group so she could message us when she was done and find someone free to help her,” 19-year-old Volunteers with Disabilities team member Moua'ayad Alrifa'ai said. “That was the inspiration for this app. We felt happy helping that student, and we wanted to let everyone enjoy the feeling of contributing to the community, including people with disabilities.”

UNICEF Jordan Representative Robert Jenkins said: “Young people have the creativity and ideas needed to solve many global issues and build a better future for everyone. With the right support, young people like these inspiring innovators in Jordan can make a positive contribution to both their communities and the world.”

Following the “high level of talent on display throughout the country”, an additional 50 young people were also chosen for support to develop their initiatives further, the statement added.