Discussions held on women’s role in peacebuilding

AMMAN — The Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) on Sunday and Monday held a series of discussions for the awareness campaign litled “The Importance of the Participation of Local Communities, Women and Youth in Building Solidarity and Community Peace” at their headquarters in Amman, according to a statement from the organisers on Tuesday.

The discussions were held within the “Research, Capacity Building, Awareness and Resilience of Syrian and Host Communities” project that the ARDD is implementing in cooperation with the International Institute for Nonviolent Action, and is funded by the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.

The first day, the discussions hosted a group of media professionals who reviewed the results of the research "Jordanian women in the context of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and community peace", presented by Media Strategist Muin Khoury.

The review was conducted in order to develop basic proposals and messages to be used in participatory strategies for an awareness campaign focused on the importance of increasing participation within local communities, in addition to helping women and youth in building solidarity and community peace, according to the statement.

Two sessions were held on the second day, hosting young media activists who discussed the results of the research presented by Khoury in order to propose mechanisms to participate in the implementation of the media awareness campaign and deliver its key messages. 

The findings of the research focused on the ability of women in Jordan to play a positive role in conflict resolution and boosting community solidarity, which participants analysed in order to come up with awareness strategies on how to portray women in the media.

Khoury began each session with a series of questions for the women participants, especially those between the ages of 15 and 49, and then shared the answers in ARDD’s surveys, which were conducted in Zarqa, Karak and East Amman, according to the statement. 

The discussion focused on women’s conditions in regards to their families, economic situation, participation in public affairs and women’s own view of themselves as well as that of society’s. 

ARDD, founded in 2008 in Amman, is a civil society organisation seeking to foster transformative change towards an empowered, resilient and just society in Jordan and the Arab World, according to the organisation’s website.