CPF, AYC launch youth entrepreneurship hub

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein on Thursday witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Crown Prince Foundation (CPF) and the Arab Youth Centre (AYC) to establish a youth hub to encourage innovation and creativity among the younger generation.

The youth entrepreneurship hub will be established in Jordan as part of the AYC’s regional network of youth centres in the United Arab Emirates providing incubators for youth creativity and innovation.

The new youth hub will provide a platform to build the capacities of Jordanian youth, hone their skills and utilise their potential in service of Jordan’s progress and prosperity.

UAE Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Vice Chairperson of the Arab Youth Centre Shamma Bint Sohail Al Mazrouei and CPF CEO Tamam Mango signed the memorandum.   

Under the agreement, youth will be invited to submit proposals for the design of the hub’s facilities, so it can meet their aspirations and creative demands.

Crown Prince Hussein also attended a ceremony to announce the winners of the Youth Pitches initiative, launched by the CPF and the Arab Youth Centre in August and held for the first time in Jordan and for the fourth time in the region, under the slogan “empowering and enhancing the economic role of women”. 

The Crown Prince was briefed on six of the projects that qualified to the final stages and featured innovative use of technological solutions, interactive platforms and non-traditional participation of women in the labour market. 

The Youth Pitches initiative aims to showcase young Jordanians’ talents, investing in their skills and abilities and supporting them in turning their innovative ideas into projects that contribute to Jordan’s progress.

Monetary prizes were awarded to the top three projects by the Arab Youth Centre (see story on page 3).  

In remarks at the ceremony, Al Mazrouei highlighted the deep-rooted Jordanian-UAE relations and emphasised their leaderships’ shared vision to promote youth engagement and capitalise on their potential.

“Our partnership with the CPF, under the leadership of Crown Prince Hussein, stems from our deep conviction that the youth will be the ones to determine what is best for their future, which will serve the developmental progress in Jordan,” Al Mazrouei stressed. 

Mango noted the significance of the partnership with the Arab Youth Centre, expressing keenness to continue this cooperation in the interest of young Jordanians, especially women.

“Women’s economic participation remains low in Jordan with 15 per cent in comparison to men’s economic participation, which stands at 56 per cent,” Mango said.

She added that the rate of women’s unemployment in Jordan is 27 per cent, while the rate of men’s employment is 17 per cent.

Amman Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh and UAE Ambassador to Jordan Ahmed Ali Mohammed Al Balushi also attended the event.