Local

AMMAN — The total number of subscribers at the Social Security Corporation (SSC) in 2016 reached 2.227 million people, the corporation announced on Tuesday.

The cumulative number of retirees stood at 194,000 with the total amount of pensions reaching JD818.4 million, according to the SSC annual report carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.Institutions included in the SSC Law in 2016 increased to 48,228, compared to 44,169 in 2015. 

AMMAN — Participants at the 15th International Electoral Affairs Symposium on Tuesday discussed the impact of social media in the electoral process during a panel discussion titled “Managing Threats and Opportunities in the Digital Age: The Role of Social Media, Cyber Threats and Digitalisation in Elections”.

Moderated by the Director of Information Technology at the Independent Election Commission of Jordan, Mahmoud Al Zaben, the session started with Sarah Cameron, Electoral integrity project manager at the University of Sydney, who talked about the challenges of voter registration, and the impact — positive and negative — technology can bring to the process.

“It is critical to strike the right balance between making registration accessible and secure, so that all eligible citizens and only eligible citizens have access to their fundamental voting rights,” Cameron stated.

Allan Best, managing director at the DELIAN Project, said that recent events have shown a growing threat from external actors influencing the domestic electoral campaigns.

“Ensuring such threats are identified and exposed are critical to maintaining the elections’ integrity while keeping the voters’ confidence,” he stressed.

The Democratic Space Manager of DAI-CDIP in Pakistan, Nadia Fakhar, said: “In my view, democracy is too sensitive to be left on technology alone.  Selective use of technology with a constant check is the solution to our challenges.”

She added that “in this digital age, there are numerous threats to the democratic process.”

“I don’t know if using technology is a good or a bad thing but we must manage it,” Zaben concluded, adding that “we need to exert more effort to increase the conscious and knowledge of citizens and voters in using this technology”.

The two-day event concluded with the International Electoral Awards Ceremony, which will recognise the work of the international electoral community by honouring their significant contribution to the democratic process at an international level, according to the organisers.

AMMAN — President of the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) Monica Frassoni on Tuesday moderated a discussion panel on the prevention of electoral violence, as part of the 15th International Electoral Affairs Symposium held at the Dead Sea.

Organised by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in collaboration with the ECES and the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies, the event included three panel discussions on Monday and two on Tuesday.

Titled “Preventing, Managing and Mediating Electoral Violence”, the discussion saw the participation of speakers from Kosovo, Burkina Faso, Colombia and Jordan.

“We are witnessing a big part of the population that is defending the peace process, and another part of the population that wants to actually destroy and end the peace process,” Hector Rojas, a magistrate at the National Electoral Council of Colombia  said during the panel.

He added that, even though Colombia is not witnessing the kidnappings and killings like it used to in the past, they are living in a “hugely” polarised state, where the population does not really know how to address the issue following the recent peace accords signed only half a year ago.

“The abuse of the truth has become unmanageable, and this is a primary form of violence against individuals,” Rojas stressed.

Mohammad Qatawneh, director of legal affairs of the IEC Jordan, said that the topic of electoral violence is an issue of great interest for the country. “We are not only discussing the elections, but also the violence in the elections,” he said.

“We used to witness riots after the results in all elections, and this will be there for so many years even if the candidates accepted the results, but most of the times they still feel inside them that it was a forged win,” he said.

Qatawneh stressed that, since its establishment, the IEC has believed that citizens are the central part of the electoral process, taking all negative concerns seriously into account, bridging all gaps resulting from this process, and also developing integrity and security procedures.

AMMAN — Reema Mahfouz, a job seeker who failed to obtain a single interview because of her disability on Tuesday participated in a bazaar that aimed to help blind and heavily sight impaired women become self-employed and self-reliant. 

Mahfouz, who received a bachelor’s degree in psychological counseling in 2014, said that, whenever she called a private school looking for a job, “they would seem welcoming but, as soon as I told them I am blind, I receive a direct no or they come up with excuses”, she told The Jordan Times at the bazaar. 

The 43-year-old was showcasing her production of Arabic sweets at the annual bazaar organised by The Saudi Centre for Rehabilitation and Training of Blind Girls, along with other women who displayed food products, handicrafts and clothes. 

The three-day bazaar, which was inaugurated by Saudi embassy’s cultural attaché, Rashed Abdullah, aims at showing the productivity and creativity of blind people and people with disabilities to society, the centre’s employment coordinator, Kawthar Ghreini, said. 

Ghreini noted that, although most of the students have over two years of training in various occupational and technical fields including physical therapy and phone operation and hold certificates from Jordanian universities, they are still struggling to find jobs. 

“Employers are afraid of recruiting a blind person regardless of the qualifications or the training that she received,” she stated. 

Ghreini recalled an incident that happened two weeks ago when she accompanied two students to a factory for an interview she set up following talks with the human resources manager.

The manager, who was initially open to the idea of employing women with disabilities, ended up retreating the factory’s offer at the last minute. 

Ghazaleh, a PhD student of Islamic Studies, said that she is afraid of searching for a job because of what she hears about the market’s refusal of people with disabilities. 

Kayan Saeed, the public relations director at the Centre, said that society’s lack of acceptance of blind people is a “real” problem, noting that people tend to look at them as “less capable” and feel hesitant to be served by them. 

The spokesperson of the Higher Council for Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, Ghadeer Hares, told The Jordan Times that not only do a lot of people with disabilities struggle to get employed, but those who find work also suffer from discrimination at their workplaces.

AMMAN — A total of 50 women from the Jerash and Irbid Governorates on Sunday graduated from an economic empowerment programme conducted by the Princess Taghrid Institute for Development and Training. 

The programme, held under the patronage of Social Development Minister Hala Lattouf, was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Finnish government. 

“This programme represents an important stage in supporting and empowering women at a personal and economic level in the governorates of Irbid and Jerash,” UNDP Programme Manager Majida Alassaf told The Jordan Times, noting that the project was aimed at “ensuring a better future and a decent life for themselves and their families”.

Ghazel Etoum, project supervisor at the Princess Taghrid Institute, told The Jordan Times that “Jerash and Irbid were chosen as the target locations because they are considered as host communities for refugees,” adding that this allowed the institute “to also work on social cohesion among the women and their families in the community”.

“Furthermore, the market potentials in those two areas are quite high for the production and sale of products both locally and nationally,” Etoum added. 

All women participating in the programme took part in a year-long vocational training designed in accordance with the requirements of the labour market and their own choices, with specific courses in the fields of food processing, cosmetics and sewing. 

Several of the products manufactured during the trainings were showcased in a fashion show held during the graduation ceremony, during which Lattouf handed certificates of achievement to the graduates.

“The ladies are much stronger now, their voices are louder, and their vocational abilities are great,” Etoum expressed, adding that the institute’s doors “are always open for the ladies to benefit from our equipment and knowledge, and to ask us for assistance with anything through the post-programme mentoring opportunity”.

All graduates will soon be provided with specialised sewing machines in order to set up their own projects, which will be supported by the Princess Taghrid Institute in their marketing phase, according to a press release by the UNDP. 

“We believe that this project will allow the trainees to use the tools provided to develop their economic situation,” Etoum said, adding that “this can be done in multiple ways, such as starting their own home based business or joining the small scale projects that we are linking the ladies with, depending on their field of work.”

“Although the project has ended, our work with the ladies will continue,” Etoum stated, noting that the institute is “working on connecting the trainees with several private companies and international opportunities to produce, sell and make a living”.

“We believe that they are already becoming elements of change in their community and we will continue to support them in their journey,” Etoum concluded. 

AMMAN — The Arab Women’s Council (AWC) has chosen HRH Princess Dina, President of Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), as “Woman of the Year 2017”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday. 

Princess Dina also received the “Golden Shield of Excellence 2017” in recognition of her “outstanding role in supporting Arab women and her efforts in combating cancer”.

She was chosen during a ceremony held in Cairo under the patronage of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, in cooperation with the Arab Women Organisation and the National Council for Women.

Princess Dina expressed her appreciation of the council for this honour, noting that it is an incentive to continue her efforts in the service of the nation and humanity. She also praised the role of the AWC in supporting women and giving them the opportunity to achieve success. 

AWC’s vice president and member of the board of trustees Judge Taghreed Hikmat and the ambassador of cooperation affairs at the Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility Mohammad Adwan presented the princess with the award.

Hikmat said the award was a recognition of Princess Dina’s role in social responsibility and support for Arab women, expressing her pride in the princess’ role as the president of UICC.

AMMAN — The Government on Tuesday signed the Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) for the period 2018-2022 with the UN representative in Jordan, providing a medium-term strategic plan for the work of the UN country team, according to a statement from the Planning Ministry.

Signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Jordan Anders Pedersen, the UNSDF embodies the UN partnership framework with the government for the next five years.

It is anchored on national priorities articulated by the Jordanian government and national development partners, and is in accordance with the values rooted in the principles of the UN charter and other internationally agreed frameworks as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the signing ceremony, Fakhoury said that the document is the result of more than a year of analysis, studies and consultations involving government agencies, civil society organisations, the private sector, international financial institutions and academic institutions. 

He noted that the document is an important reference for identifying the strength and weakness points of the interventions of UN agencies in Jordan.

Aligned with the Integrated Framework for Economic and Social Policies for the next 10 years (Jordan 2025 document), the UNSDF was formulated in line with national development priorities, the Jordan Response Plan for the Syrian Crisis, the Executive Development Programmes  (2018-2022), in addition to the National Strategy for Human Resource Development (2016-2025) and the Roadmap for Implementing the Sustainable Development Agenda (2030) in Jordan and elsewhere, the statement said.

Over the next five years, the document will focus on achieving three interlinked priorities including strengthening institutions, empowering individuals and enhancing opportunities.

The new framework will provide a basis for enhancing the cooperation, coherence and effectiveness of development initiatives, supporting the work of UN organisations in Jordan, ensuring maximum impact at the national level and intensifying efforts to mitigate the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis, the statement added. 

The UNSDF will focus on deepening peace and stability, protecting human rights and social cohesion through capacity-building and institutional systems, empowering individuals and providing opportunities for women, youth and the most vulnerable groups.

It also aims at pursuing balanced, sustainable and comprehensive economic growth through support for a more diversified and competitive economic system, in addition to strengthening the role of women to be stronger and more equal in the political, economic and social fields, the statement added.

The minister said that Jordan will continue to count on the support of the UN to achieve its development plans and priorities set out in Jordan 2025 and its successive Executive Development Programmes aimed at sustaining Jordan’s resilience and improving the lives of Jordanians.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to emphasise our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the UN’s support to Jordan over the many years, and especially at these challenging and critical times in light of the regional circumstances,” Fakhoury said.

For his part, Pedersen stressed that UNSDF promotes the government’s commitment to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the 17 sustainable development goals related to the agenda, human rights conventions and other agreed international treaties.

“UNFSD reflects the commitment of the UN to work towards a more coherent approach and more effective ways of linking humanitarian and development work that would support Jordan’s humanitarian response, and work towards sustainable development,” Pedersen said.

AMMAN — “You are the Ministry of Volunteerism of Jordan. Your mentality and your attitude provide an example for society to create positive change,” said Tomas Kvedaras, head of the UN volunteering programmes in Jordan at the UN Volunteers Awards (UNVA) ceremony on Tuesday.

Organised on the occasion of the International Day of Volunteers marked annually on December 5, the awards ceremony aimed to “reward the efforts and achievements of Jordanian volunteers and highlight volunteer contributions to peace and development in Jordan”, according to the organisers.

The celebrations started off with an “initiatives market” showcasing the 28 volunteers projects selected through an online competition which ran between November 1 and 22, calling for social media users to vote for their preferred social initiative.

“Since they were uploaded, the 62 videos have been watched more than 60,000 times and received over 20,000 votes,” Kvedaras told The Jordan Times at the event, highlighting the huge turnout of participants at the event.

“We live in a collective society, and we need to learn how to be individuals as part of a wider community,” said Karam Jad, a volunteer with Tareek Hor (“Free Road” in Arabic), a project that seeks to engage children and youth in various projects in the fields of culture, sport and education, among others.

Running for the “medium scale” award, the initiative aims to “motivate kids and youth to get out of their shell and make their voices heard”, while strengthening their links with all segments of society.

Competing for the “technology and innovation” award, Robotna’s founder Jaser Al Harasis voiced his pride to see the initiative he launched in 2013 be recognised by the public. 

“Technology and programming are tools which are essential for the future so we teach students at schools and in host communities how to master the skills of robotics to equip them for the future,” he said, noting that Robotna’s 20 volunteers have already reached 200 students.

Representing the Voicrill initiative, Amenah Bustami recalled how the project, which seeks to record academic books for visually impaired students, started out with a few University of Jordan students recording on their mobile phones.

“Now, we have a studio at the university and we hope to scale up the initiative to all the universities across the Kingdom,” she said, noting that they currently focus on recording the mandatory curriculum required in various academic streams.

Held by UN Volunteers (UNV) and sponsored by KOICA, in cooperation with the Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), All Jordan Youth Commission, INJAZ and Int@j, the UNVA awarded seven projects in the following categories: best volunteer initiative at the large, medium and small scales; best university volunteer initiative; best international volunteer assignment; best volunteer initiative in entrepreneurship; best volunteer initiative in the field of technology and innovation and best online volunteer.

“There are a lot of volunteer initiatives in Jordan, but there is a lack of coordination among them, and they are all scattered, like islands in the ocean,” Kvedaras said, adding “what we try to do with UNV is to bring them all on board to create a network that can be mobilised and spread awareness at a larger scale.”

Commending the work of all the participants gathered at the ceremony, he stressed the importance of “helping others, both for the good of society as a whole, but also as a way to develop yourself, make friends, and create a better tomorrow”.

Country Director of KOICA Byun Sook-Jin stated: "In our perspective, volunteering is not an obligation, it is a form of devoting one's life to humanity and peace."

The UNV programme, which is active in 130 countries worldwide, under the administration of the UN Development Programme, seeks to contribute towards peace and development through volunteerism, according to its website. 

AMMAN — “When I draw women and their rights, I’m drawing about me,” said Doaa El Adl, one of the winners of the online cartoon competition created by Omar Al Abdallat and run by the United Nations Population Fund Jordan (UNFPA) in collaboration with Seven Circles and Bright Future.

Launched as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign taking place between November 25 and December 10, the competition aimed to “find an innovative way to shed light on GBV”, said Laila Baker, UNFPA Jordan representative, adding  that “we think that cartoons can provide a fresh take on a subject matter that is often times not easy to explore.” 

Egyptian El Adl alongside Syrian Alaa Rustum were awarded a $500 prize, chosen out of a total of 167 cartoons which gathered 6,190 votes.

Depicting an older man with a baby carriage carrying a weeping young girl in a wedding gown, Rustum’s cartoon “Underage” was presented with the description “child rape in the name of marriage”. 

Voicing his appreciation of the recognition of his work, the Syrian artist said it “motivates me to continue drawing the sad and the humorous — the art of caricature on a topic that concerns everyone”.

For her part, Adl, an awardwinning cartoonist who was named one of the BBC’s “100 Women” in 2016, presented a cartoon titled “Marriage of Minors”, portraying an elderly man smiling as he pushes a shopping cart full of young girls wearing wedding gowns.

The drawing was published with the description “on the phenomenon of marriage of underage girls”. 

The cartoon competition, which was open to anyone over 18 years old sought to highlight the negative effects of child marriage and domestic violence. 

“As a woman, I believe it is crucial to raise awareness on the topic of GBV. I am very happy to see that the platform we created is used for such causes and that it brought attention to over 72,000 people,” said Dominika Turek, CEO at Bright Future.

“We are very humbled to be firsthand witnesses to so much talent. We hope this will be a reminder of the infinite potential people have in empowering women and building a kinder world,” Dina Saoudi, co-founder of Seven Circles, told The Jordan Times after the event.

Baker was part of the jury, along with UNFPA Jordan Emergency Youth Officer Leana Islam, Deputy Director of Programmes at International Rescue Committee Bryn Boyce, Mary Nazzal-Batayneh, named as one of Forbes’ most powerful Arab businesswomen, journalist Hana Al Araj and Gada Jermy, a digital artist. 

“The cartoons submitted in this competition were raw and painful to view. But we need to feel the pain experienced by so many women in order to mobilise and take action to end inequality and violence towards women,” Batayneh said. 

The cartoons can still be seen at 

www.workingdreamers.com

AMMAN — The 4th International Investment Forum for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency meetings have started at the Dead Sea, with the attendance of the chairperson of the higher oversight committee of the Arab Renewable Energy Commission (AREC) HRH Princess Sanaa, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

Secretary General of the AREC Mohammed Taani said that he is expecting achievements of the green energy in the Arab world to reach about 500 billion by 2030, which will contribute to providing jobs for future generations.

On the sidelines of the forum, Princess Sanaa inaugurated an exhibition for local and international companies working in the field of renewable energy, as well as projects by students from public schools.