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AMMAN — An exhibition that opened on Wednesday showcases works of art illustrating the thoughts and skills of people with disabilities. 

Held by Ruwwad Al Tanmeya, a nonprofit community empowerment organisation, the exhibition, titled Alwan (colours), features products made through Bayt Silsal, which is a centre that hosts people with disabilities to create ceramics and paintings.   

Samar Dudin, regional director and head of programmes at Ruwwad Al Tanmeya, said Bayt Silsal is an initiative by Jordanian artist Rula Atalla in collaboration with the NGO. 

“We set up the workshop in 2006 and started with four participants; now we have 16.They come to the workshop on a daily basis and work in ceramics and with creative art,” she told The Jordan Times at the opening ceremony of the exhibition at Wadi Finan Art Gallery.  

Dudin noted that the project focuses on creating a safe place for young people with disabilities to access some form of employment and productivity in the process of creating art and also developing themselves. 

“It also focuses on creating support groups for the parents in collaboration with SANA organisation for special individuals. The impact... has been that we have created daily work for 16 young people with disabilities and support groups for their parents, which helps them deal with all kinds of psychosocial challenges related to working with young people with disabilities,” Dudin added. 

“It is very important to address the challenges of people with different types of disabilities, but I think there is progress and the most effective progress is through initiatives that are mobilised by active people who are able to create pilots to inspire and to enhance the way we address the needs of this of very special group of citizens,” she said. 

Maysoun Ayoub, one of the trainers at Bayt Silsal, said the exhibition, which continues through December 29, illustrates their talents and skills.  

“The message is that if we provide people with disabilities with all the necessary support, they can create high-quality products and be productive members in the community,” Ayoub told The Jordan Times.  

Hani Alqam, an artist who teaches the participants how to paint, said they are curious to know what art is which made the process much easier for both parties — the teacher and the students. 

“All the works displayed at the exhibition represent their feelings and thoughts,” he added.  

Alqam noted that each student has the qualities of an artist. 

“An artist has to be brave, and they are.”

Dudin underscored the need to focus more on innovative approaches where the families of people with disabilities are involved, and creativity and production are integrated to create not only sustainable initiatives, but also those that can inspire and mobilise action to help and support these types of projects. 

“They do not think that they are people with disabilities, they perceive themselves as normal people and the main proof of that is the great energy they have during the working process at the centre,” she added. 

Um Ayman Kanaan, whose son Ayman is one of the beneficiaries of the initiative, said the centre helped her son, especially psychologically.

“People in the neighbourhood used to mock him because he suffers from a disability and he became shy because of that. He also used to spend most of the day sleeping,” she told The Jordan Times over the phone, noting that the centre made him feel confident. 

“He receives some money because of his work and he is proud of that. He is skilful in painting and now he spends all his day painting.”

AMMAN — The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) will soon take legal action against companies that have not abided by the 2014 JBA Law which stipulates assigning lawyers as legal advisers, a JBA official said Thursday.

The amended law was endorsed on July 16, 2014 and went into effect three months later, JBA Vice President Rami Shawawreh told The Jordan Times, expecting the lawsuits to start in February or March next year.

The JBA addressed these companies to implement the amended law, but many of them have not committed to it, he said.

“The decision protects both companies and their clients, in addition to helping secure jobs for lawyers,” Shawawreh added.

He noted that the article was already listed in the 1985 JBA Law, but the 2014 version reduced companies’ capitals and, therefore, widened the included firms.

Article 43 of the JBA Law stipulates that public and private joint stock companies, limited liability firms with capitals higher than JD20,000, and foreign companies and their branches, agencies, representatives or regional offices, are required to hire legal advisers, Sharawreh explained.

“Companies and institutions registered at development or free zones, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority or the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority — regardless of their capitals — are also included,” the JBA official added.

Nonprofit entities and other types of companies with capitals of at least JD50,000 are also required to hire legal advisers, according to Shawawreh, who said that around 7,500 companies out of some 40,000 have adhered to the law.

“Around 2,500 lawyers have benefited from the amendment so far, and a lawyer can be the legal adviser for up to five companies at the same time,” he said.

Violating companies have to pay the JBA’s Company Fund JD5 for each day they did not hire a lawyer since October 16, 2014, the JBA vice president said, explaining that the lawsuits would be for fine-collection purposes.

Article 43 of the law also stipulates that the company or institution has to sign a contract with the lawyer and present written notification of the legal adviser’s name to the JBA within 60 days of the signing.

AMMAN — The Cabinet’s recent decision to establish a fund to support Jordanians hit hard by natural disasters is a “step in the right direction”, according to field experts.   

However, they highlighted the need for the fund to be transparent and to compensate only documented and evidence-based damage.

The Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved a draft by-law on the establishment of the fund to minimise the losses of citizens affected by natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, thunderbolts, ground cracks, landslides and fires, in addition to other conditions the Cabinet includes.

The fund is expected to have a “positive” impact on taxpayers’ stance on the government’s reactions to their problems, said Amman Chamber of Commerce Vice Chairman Ghassan Kherfan, particularly traders with “modest” shops.

Meanwhile, the concerned authorities should “clearly” specify compensation conditions beforehand and educate the public on the importance of obtaining official documentation on the damage, assisted by photographs, unlike what happened with downtown Amman traders during the recent floods.

“It is important to correctly evaluate losses,” Kherfan told The Jordan Times in a phone interview on Thursday, noting that some may tend to “exaggerate” the amount of losses to collect higher assistance.

The official announcement mentioned “cash and in-kind” assistance. Kherfan explained that in-kind assistance could be a reduction in sales or income taxes for affected traders.

Ali Dalki, mayor of Muath Bin Jabal Municipality, which witnessed widespread damage due to floods in early November, described the move as “excellent if implemented fairly”.

He said the compensation for the recent floods was “insignificant”, as families with completely damaged furniture were give a food package and two blankets.

However, an “efficient” use of the fund will help citizens and the government in responding to emergency situations, Dalki noted, adding that it has to contain tens of thousands of dinars in order for the government’s response to be “quick and effective” since natural disasters usually result in major losses.

The fund, according to the Cabinet decision, will be administered by the Finance Ministry, which will oversee balances and expenditures, in accordance with the by-law 

Officials at the ministry could not be reached for comment despite several attempts by The Jordan Times to reach them. 

AMMAN — Corporate entrepreneurship responsibility (CER) is the foundation to help start-ups scale up and play a key role in addressing the pressing challenges of poverty and unemployment in the country, ICT experts and officials said Thursday.

In Jordan, where unemployment among young people is estimated at 34 per cent, the private sector needs to be more involved in empowering start-ups and small and medium enterprises, which are the actual job makers in the country, the experts noted during a conference marking the first anniversary of the establishment of the Zain Innovation Campus (ZINC).

“Supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups is a cornerstone in addressing the economic problems Jordan faces,” Zain Jordan CEO Ahmad Hanandeh said at the event, attended by key players in the industry, local and regional experts, entrepreneurs and students.

The Kingdom, he added, has all it takes for start-ups to go regional and global, urging the private sector to increase its role in empowering entrepreneurs.

Hanandeh said Zain Jordan will open three branches of its innovation campus outside the capital to increase support to entrepreneurs across the country’s governorates.

CER is a new concept that is gaining momentum and can help large companies grow and support start-ups to scale up, Habib Haddad, founding CEO of Wamda, said.

“It is a win-win situation. Large companies need to constantly benefit from innovation that usually comes from small start-ups and the start-ups need large companies to grow and scale up,” Haddad noted.

The potential is huge for CER, and some studies indicate that 65 per cent of start-ups are willing to change their business models to become partners with large companies, he said.

“CER is key for further successes in the sector,” Haddad added, noting that about 39 per cent of entrepreneurs in Jordan are females and the rate is rising.

ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh said the government places heavy emphasis on supporting entrepreneurs out of its strong belief in their role in developing economies.

“By creating jobs, start-ups help address one of the most pressing challenges in the Arab world that include poverty and unemployment,” the minister added, noting that Jordan is a regional hub when it comes to supporting entrepreneurs.

Shweikeh referred to recent government decisions to support the ICT sector that include exempting exports from taxes.

The ministry is also working with the ICT Association of Jordan to address the gap in students’ skills.

AMMAN — Rainfall in the northern region has been below its annual average this season, a weather forecaster said on Thursday. 

Arabiaweather.com Chief Meteorologist Omar Dajani said if the Kingdom does not receive rainfall soon, the central region will also be in the same situation. 

“There are no indications of major widespread rainfall in the coming days,” Dajani told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

The weather will be relatively cold on Friday, with a possibility of light rainfall in the northern region, Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) Director General Mohammad Samawi said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

On Friday, temperatures in Amman’s eastern areas will range between a high of 15°C and a low of 6°C, while they are expected to reach a maximum of 14°C and drop to a minimum of 5°C in the capital’s western neighbourhoods.

The JMD warned of the possibility of frost formation after midnight in the badia and mountainous areas. 

On Saturday, the weather will be relatively cold with a slight chance of rainfall and the potential for frost formation after midnight in many areas in the Kingdom. 

Temperatures in east Amman will range between a high of 14°C and a low of 5°C, while they are expected to reach a maximum of 13°C and drop to a minimum of 4°C in the capital’s western suburbs.

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry Secretary General Mohammad Tayseer Bani Yassin on Thursday received the credentials of the newly appointed ambassador of China, Pan Weifang.

During the ceremony, the two officials discussed Sino-Jordanian relations and means to further enhance them, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Awqaf Minister Hayel Dawood on Wednesday met with his Palestinian counterpart Yousef Duais and discussed ways to develop bilateral relations.

The ministers praised the "deep" relations between both countries and peoples, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Duais commended the Awqaf Ministry's organisation of international training courses on the Amman Message.

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi and Gendarmerie Department Director Maj. Gen. Hussein Hawatmeh on Thursday stressed the Kingdom's stability, according to a PSD statement.

They made the remarks during an inspection visit to check on police and Gendarmerie Department units in Aqaba and the southern region.

AMMAN — Finance Minister Omar Malhas met in New York with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Thursday and discussed joint Jordanian-US efforts and measures to combat the financing of terrorism.

The meeting was held before a UN Security Council session on combating terrorism financing.

The US official stressed his country’s commitment to supporting Jordan in combating the Daesh terror group, and assisting the Kingdom to strengthen its economy and deal with the Syrian refugee crisis, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — Ruseifa Public Security Department (PSD) personnel on Thursday arrested two suspects classified as “dangerous”, who were wanted for 35 burglaries involving shops in Amman and Ruseifa, a PSD statement said.

Criminal Investigation Department agents arrested the suspects while they were reportedly committing a theft at dawn, the statement quoted a security source as saying. The suspects confessed to the thefts and will be referred to court, the PSD said.