‘More cooperation needed to implement efficient counterviolence programmes’

AMMAN — Experts on human security and counterviolence programmes have gathered on Sunday to share the results of their research, and combine resources in order to formulate more comprehensive and longer-term  projects, organisers said. 

The event, held in Amman, was organised by the non-profit the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) political think tank, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.  

WANA senior team leader, Neven Bondokji, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the Kingdom is keen to counter violence and terrorism, but stressed that most projects are either planned on a short-term basis or are fragmented, therefore limiting the impact of the results. 

“Empowering women and young people, and combating political exclusion, are projects that fit into the plan for countering violence and extremism. 

But their value and efficiency are limited, since they are short-term. Long-term projects’ result in providing better achievements,” Bondokji added. 

She stressed that it is crucial that the 25 experts, who included donors, local NGOs and field practitioners, meet to “think together” and share their findings in order to identify and overcome potential challenges and implement long-term projects. 

“Our aim is to make a concrete difference, through generating critical feedback on research findings and encouraging open discussion in order to develop long-term cooperation between regional experts,” the team leader added.

“The only hope we have to improve integration between our programmes, and to support one another in terms of outcomes, is to sit together, face to face,” Hunter Keith, Mercy Corps director in Jordan, told The Jordan Times.