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AMMAN — Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Prince Khalid Bin Faisal on Tuesday met Senate President Faisal Fayez, and Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh over “brotherly ties” and cooperation in various fields.

Fayez highlighted Saudi Arabia’s role in financing development projects across the country with direct engagement of the Saudi Development Fund, adding that the Saudi effort helps solve many of Jordan’s economic challenges, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Tarawneh said that the meeting aimed at discussing issues of mutual interest. For his part, the Saudi envoy stressed the need to foster mutual cooperation amidst the current regional circumstances. The prince also underscored the significance of sustaining joint efforts to fight terrorism and extremism. 

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Tuesday inaugurated deliberations of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, a high-profile diocesan congregation offering services in Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Fayez highlighted the importance of enhancing social solidarity to combat terrorism and face those who call for sectarianism.

He added that the Amman Message constituted a cornerstone for a human brotherhood that boosts shared values and discards conflicts based on races and religions. 

AMMAN — The Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) on Tuesday called for increasing tax flexibility through expanding the tax base, boosting collection efficiency and diversifying tax resources.

In a study titled “The trio of economic growth, tax revenues and foreign aid”, JSF called on the government to achieve higher levels of stability in the macro economy performance, especially that a former JSF study showed instability in the economy that affected tax flexibility.

The forum also recommended adopting a “very careful” administration of foreign assistance and using it for enhancing economic growth and capital expenditures, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — “I learned a lot from the journalism course I received, with the most important thing being to stay objective because journalism is the mirror of people’s reality,” said Ahmad Adham Hariri, a 14 year-old Syrian refugee volunteering as a journalist for The Road Media in Zaatari camp.

Started in 2014 by the Japan Emergency NGO and supported by UNICEF, The Road Media is the first of its kind news publication in a refugee camp setting.

“This is truly a pioneering initiative. Before us, no single publication was allowed into the camp and residents did not have access to any form of print media,” said Hada Sarhan, chief editor of The Road Media.

Entirely written and designed by refugees, The Road Media started out with a short eight-page issue covering NGOs-related news and updates on the water system within the camp.

“At the beginning, most of the stories were about the war, the losses and the obstacles faced by refugees since the Syrian crisis started. But it progressively moved towards more positive stories, with the magazine now featuring a lot of success stories from the residents, as well as advice on how to adjust to the camp environment,” Sarhan told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The Road Media was launched with only seven trainees, all male, who took part in the first journalistic workshop conducted by Sarhan. The number has now grown to 150 journalists, including 43 women, who collaborate on the monthly publication. 

“The paper is written by the refugees for the refugees. We do not interfere, we only give them the skills and do the editing part,” the chief editor explained. 

While the residents show signs of reluctance and lack of confidence at the start, they quickly get caught up in the enthusiasm of the initiative.

“I was reluctant to join the magazine because I was young and I was afraid of rejection; but when I started, I loved how it helped me learn about many people. I started to talk to the other refugees and explore their views on a lot of subjects. I used to be introverted, but now I can talk to anyone and write about it,” said 14-year-old Sahima Al Amari.

The publication, which is free of charge and available as an online version, is entirely shaped by refugees, whether in Zaatari camp or abroad. 

“We have people from Azraq camp writing for us, as well as refugees living in other countries including Germany, Turkey, Lebanon and Kurdistan, among others,” Sarhan said, citing the example of the magazine’s graphic designer, a Syrian refugee volunteering from Copenhagen. 

“While other NGOs provide them with clothes, food and sanitary items, we bring something to their mind. It is not really education like it is being taught in schools, but more of a skillset for the future,” Sarhan, a journalist herself, said. 

Stressing the growing success of the publication, she said: “The Road Media does not only provide them with the skills, it also gives them dreams. Most of those people came from rural areas and had never thought or dreamed of being a journalist.”

The chief editor said that a number of those trainees are now planning to start their own publication when they return to Syria, citing the example of 14-year-old Taha Bassam Al Hariri who said: “I hope to become a famous journalist in the future when I go back to Syria.”

The Road Media, which is published in English, Arabic and Japanese, also provides training for young refugees, acquainting them with the professional rules and requirements of journalism.

The last youth workshop was conducted in September, a month during with 35 boys and girls aged between 10 and 13 years old, were familiarised with the ropes of the industry.  

“I loved watching my brother Louay constantly searching for stories and news that interest us in the camp. So I decided to be part of The Road Media too and it changed a lot in my life. I started writing topics at school, be more integrated and talk with people,” said Abi Saeed, a 13-year-old trainee.

“These kids want to write, they want to learn. So, whenever they have free time [school starts in the afternoon for the in-camp students] they can attend the editorial meetings, or shadow some of the journalists,” Sahran said, noting that each child was mentoring and given feedback by one of the adult journalist. 

“They are learning step by step, but I can already see that some of them will turn out to be great journalists,” she concluded.

AMMAN — Members of the Lower House on Tuesday elected MP Fawzi Tuaimeh to head a committee to respond to the Speech from the Throne, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Headed by Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, a subcommittee of MPs was formed, under the chairmanship of Tuaimeh, to begin drafting a response to the speech.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Tuesday held a ceremony at Al Hussein Cultural Centre to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the late King Hussein under the patronage of Amman’s Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Shawarbeh delivered a speech on King Hussein praising his journey, his accomplishments, his loyalty to Jordan and what he offered to the people of the country. 

Poet Haydar Mahmoud recited a poem for the occasion, and a film on King Hussein’s life was screened, along with a musical event and a photo exhibition about the late monarch.

AMMAN — Deputising for HRH Prince Ghazi, the King’s special adviser for religious and cultural affairs and the personal envoy of His Majesty King Abdullah, Jordan’s Grand Mufti Mohammad Khalaileh on Tuesday inaugurated the 4th scientific world forum titled “The role of Islamic culture in shaping humans and societies”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The forum is organised by the Iftaa Department, in cooperation with the Supreme Judge Department and Awqaf, and the education and culture ministries.

Khalaileh highlighted the role played by Amman in the various stages of Islamic history and its contributions to the history of civilisation in the past and present.

He emphasised the importance of Amman being selected as this year’s Islamic culture capital by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation based on specific standards of historical heritage and cultural excellence of the city.

AMMAN — The Education Ministry’s examination committee on Tuesday endorsed the schedule of the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination’s (Tawjihi) 2018 winter session.

The ministry said in a statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the examination for academic streams will start on January 7 and end on January 23, where the first session will start at 11am and the second at 1:30pm.

As for vocational streams, the exam will be conducted between December 2 and 6. The ministry took into account suggestions and comments from students online, where more than 35,000 students took part.

AMMAN — Thirty-five-year-old Wijdan Attar, who lives in Irbid Governorate, is not a typical young woman; she refused to abide by the societal limitations around her and followed her passion for books, spreading her literary dream across the Kingdom.  

After graduating with a BA degree in marketing, Attar started working for a media company. However, her father later pushed her to leave her job, fearing that “politics would smear” his daughter. 

Attar then decided to follow her passion and find others to inspire and encourage. As she quit her job and spent most of her time indulging in books, she came up with the idea of starting a book club. 

“It is not easy to find a job, so I stayed home and spent most of my time in my room enjoying being alone with the many shelves full of books. Although it brought me utmost joy, it was still not enough,” she told The Jordan Times.

Attar started off by volunteering to read stories at different girls’ schools in her governorate, 80 kilometres north of Amman, where she was continuously encouraged and supported by the staff and the parents.

After a while, she felt the need to further stretch her dream of positively impacting others. “After a while spent reading to students, I felt that there is definitely room for more,” the young woman recalled.

She said that most good books are expensive and libraries offering books to borrow are rare and, if found, they are mostly located in the capital. 

Although the online books helped, she noted that bookworms like her tend to prefer physical books, enjoying their smell and touch. 

Attar said she draws her determination to do better from her role model, Her Majesty Queen Rania who has exerted hard and steadfast efforts to improve Jordan’s education system.

“I started thinking of the many women and men who like me, are passionate about books and need guidance and support, and I found my space through social media,” she said.

Attar, like many others, found her breathing space on Twitter where she began a reading club last year, starting off with a small number of followers which grew larger every week.  

Speaking with excitement, Attar said that the bookworms now “meet” on a daily basis online, throughout the week, sharing the books they read, and tweeting quotes.

The group, named “Watan Yagra wa Yugra”     (meaning “a country that reads and to read about”) counts more than 600 members.

From being friends on social media, Attar and a group of people — most of whom live in Irbid — went on to form an actual book club who now meets regularly at homes or cultural venues.  

“Our meetings are recorded live on social media so others can benefit from the shared valued and discussions,” she explained, adding that “both the virtual and actual reading clubs are spaces to meet with people who feel alike and have the same aspirations.”

“We cannot socialise regularly but we are still connected on a daily basis: chatting, exchanging information, and sometimes even arguing. But ultimately, we are here for each other,” the young woman continued.

What matters the most to Attar is also the fact that her one-year initiative is highly appreciated and encouraged by her father, whose opinion Attar values the most.  “For once I did what I love and I succeeded,” she concluded with a smile. 

After the success of the Twitter account, Attar created a Facebook page under the same name, where all praised the woman’s passion and how she paved the way for others to benefit and enjoy the company of new friends with mutual interest. 

BONN — Eighty per cent of countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) contain water related actions in their adaptation measures, water experts said on Tuesday, estimating the annual cost for the implementation of water goals at $50-60 billion over the next decade.

They argued that water is the most frequently cited sector at NDCs, with proposed actions ranging from conservation to food security, sanitation, urban resilience and energy.

At a press conference held by the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the water experts discussed financing water security and adapting it to the implementation of NDCs, which are national commitments by each country signatory to the Paris Agreement to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Article four, paragraph two at the Paris Agreement requires each party to “prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions that it intends to achieve”, according to the website of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

GWP Chair Oyun Sanjaasuren said that demand for water is set to exceed the available resources, citing figures that indicate that 20 per cent of the world’s population will be at risk of floods by 2050.

She underlined that reports show that benefits of strategic investment in water security exceed hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

“…, today more than 2.4 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation, so it’s absolutely clear that scale of investment needed is big and is going to increase,” Sanjaasuren said.

Investment is required to protect populations, cities, economies and ecosystems from water related risks, such as droughts, floods, inadequate access to safe drinking water supplies, sanitation and degradation of water systems, she said.

“The challenges are really enormous when it comes to water security,” she underlined.

The water expert said that the NDCs of most countries clearly state that water is the main challenge to progress and the main limiting factor for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“It is very important not only to understand the world challenges and threats to water security but also to figure out the solutions, which include unlocking financing to water security and adaptation,” Sanjaasuren argued.

NDC Partnership Global Director Pablo Vieira revealed that 80 per cent of NDCs contain water-related actions under the adaptation measures.

Vieira underlined that some countries are facing droughts and thus focusing on water scarcity in their NDCs, while others are facing floods and the rest are facing both, which necessitates flexible and comprehensive solutions.

“Water is not only an issue of adaptation; there are lots of implications in terms of mitigation… we can reduce emissions from water use and water treatment,” Vieira said.

He noted that interlinking adaptation and mitigation is a huge challenge, which needs plans that are based on specific water risks and opportunities, highlighting that such plans need to be incorporated in current and future NDCs as well as national and sectoral policies and plans.