‘Jordan in Figures’ 2nd phase aspires to promote ‘data-driven mindset’ in youth

AMMAN — The “Jordan in Figures” initiative in its second phase focuses on youth engagement in tackling major socio-economic challenges in the Kingdom, bringing together different segments of society.

Launched by the Jordan Economic Forum (JEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2021, the initiative targeted youth aged between 20 and 30 years, majoring in business, economics, journalism, human rights, social sciences, or related fields.

‘Jordan in Figures’ is a dialogue and debate programme that seeks to educate and train youth, to practise economic leadership and decision-making, discover their voice and take direct action for the development of Jordan.

“The initiative promotes a data-driven mindset, emphasising the importance of research and statistics in times of false news and social media algorithms,” according to UNDP.

On Monday, Aseel Omari, head of JEF’s project department, told The Jordan Times: “The initiative aims to create youth friendly spaces for youth to investigate social and economic issues, in addition to key development priorities in the Kingdom.”

In the second phase of the programme, there are three training boot camps, two of which have been completed, in addition to a series of data-driven debates that bring together policy-makers, media, civil society organisations and youth, she said.

“What really makes this initiative different is the youth participation in all its aspects,” she added.

The first phase of the initiative, which was implemented in 2021, consisted of a series of training on essential economic and development topics, as well as the basics of dialogue and debate.