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AMMAN — UNESCO on Wednesday launched an exhibition of handcrafted and naturally dyed fabrics created by rural women from the Jordan Valley as part of a women’s empowerment programme.

As part of its project “Empowering Rural Women in the Jordan Valley”, UNESCO, in partnership with Al Hima Foundation and the Ghor Al Safi Women’s Association, is hosting the exhibition “Colours of Jordan” to showcase products by 14 women from the south of Jordan.

The exhibition continues through Saturday at Shams Al Balad Café in Jabal Amman.

Funded by Drosos Foundation, the project aims to empower rural women in Ghor Al Safi by helping them make their handicraft activities sustainable and provide them with income-generating opportunities.

UNESCO Representative to Jordan Costanza Farina said the project opens new horizons for women’s ambitions and creates opportunities to support their communities.

“It has been rewarding for us to collaborate with these women in creating innovative income opportunities over the past few years. They have succeeded at intertwining history, culture and capacity development and improving the livelihoods of the local community,” she said.

The event celebrated “Safi Crafts”, a collection of hand-dyed and eco-friendly textiles such as pillowcases and reusable shopping bags created using colours made from soil and natural dye plants.

The president of the Ghor Al Safi Women’s Association, Nofeh Nawasra, highlighted the importance of supporting and expanding this project and its effect on women and their communities.

“The results of the project helped empower a lot of women by providing them with a sustainable income for themselves and their families,” she said.

“Some of the women have started their own businesses, some completed furnishing their houses and some were able to pay for their children’s university tuition fees,” she told The Jordan Times.

Myassar Ajaleen, a member of the association, said the project has helped her provide for her family and rely more on herself.

“I didn’t have a source of income before I started working with the association. After a couple of years of working with them I was able to save up and start my own small business selling home-made pastry. I was also able to provide my children with university education without the help of anyone else,” she said.

Since 1999, the women of Ghor Al Safi have produced hand-dyed textiles using the colourful soil and natural dye plants of Jordan.

According to UNESCO Project Officer Valentina Gamba, during the past two years the women successfully revived the ancient indigo industry to obtain a natural blue colour, for which the Jordan Valley was famous in the past.

“We involved international and Jordanian experts to establish a cultivation pilot in order to plant the crop and harvest it, and create the natural blue colour. It is the first time in Jordan that natural blue is back to the market and this is a very big achievement for the heritage of the country,” she told The Jordan Times.

Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez attended the opening of the exhibition.

This initiative is part of UNESCO’s global campaign #Unite4Heritage, which supports safeguarding cultural heritage and cultural diversity around the world.

AMMAN — Seven young Jordanians employed verse in expressing their views on gender issues and advocating for social change in a poetry slam on Thursday. 

Organised by the
USAID Takamol Gender Programme and marking the conclusion of the "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence" campaign, the competition followed a six-week training programme for participants on style and content.

The spoken poetry initiative seeks to provide youths with creative tools to express what they can do regarding gender issues and other topics of interest, Takamol Chief of Party Nermeen Murad told The Jordan Times.

"The project encourages spoken poetry as a form of communication, especially as there is not enough social dialogue on gender-based violence issues," she noted, adding that the initiative will be taken to universities.

First place winner Abdulkarim Waqqad said he now has the motivation to build further on his interest in creating spoken poetry, which started two years ago.

The 16-year-old recited a poem depicting the socio-economic challenges facing young residents of underprivileged areas in east Amman.

"I will continue to write about such topics in my future compositions," the Takamol Poet 2015 told The Jordan Times.

Mohammad Sulaiman's poem discussing the binary of men's vs women's rights came second, while Nour Jaljouli's poem on how stereotypes form chains imprisoning girls since birth came third.  

Another participant, Amira Shabaan, said she found in the workshop and the competition a "great chance for learning" that she hopes to build on.

The 19-year-old said it was difficult for her at the beginning to compose poetry about personal encounters with gender-based topics, a wall that the training encouraged her to break in order to share a more "genuine" experience with the audience.  

Cartoonist Omar Abdallat, a member of the committee of judges, described the competition as a "very important and inspiring" experience that revealed the potential of young Jordanians in an under-appreciated field of art.

"It is the role of artists to move communities towards finding solutions for problems their societies face," he told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the competition.

Spoken word artist, poet and writer Aysha Shamayleh, who trained participants in the competition, highlighted three components of the workshop that addressed three stages of the spoken word process: brainstorming and idea generation techniques, writing techniques and performance. 

Shamayleh, who is the founder and CEO of WritersCell creative writing incubator, said participants' performances exceeded her expectations and registered "great" improvement over the course of the programme.

Amer Al Taher, a rap singer and composer who also trained the competitors, highlighted the power of a single line of poetry impregnated with meaning and emotion to affect the audience and encourage them to embrace change.

He cited the various backgrounds and personal experiences of participants as a challenge that the group was able to overcome through their shared passion for writing poetry.  

The initiative was implemented in partnership with the Jordanian National Commission for Women, UN Women and the embassy of the Netherlands.

AMMAN — A group of young people on Wednesday attacked Al Qastal Secondary School in Jiza by lighting fires and destroying property in the principal's room and the computer laboratory, the Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) said Thursday.

The assailants were attempting to attack a sports teacher and his students while they were training in preparation for participation in the Education Ministry's activities, according to a JTA statement.

The teacher defended the students, resulting in a brawl, said the statement.

Afterwards, the attackers broke into the principal's office and burned it, as well as destroying computers in the laboratory, the statement said, adding that because the principal's office was separate from the classrooms, teachers did not notice the fire until smoke had accumulated.

The smoke resulted in breathing difficulties among some students, which forced teachers to send them home for their safety.

The teachers then called the police, district administration and the education directorate, the statement added.

Teacher Walid Jaber, a JTA member who visited the school, was quoted in the statement as saying that the school was "badly damaged" and the association would follow up on the incident with the education directorate.

Abdul Rahman Zaben, another JTA member, called on the Interior Ministry to provide protection for schools in Jiza District, noting that the school had previously been attacked without any measures being taken against the assailants.

The incident is the fifth in the district since the beginning of the year, raising the total number of recorded assaults on teachers and schools across the Kingdom to 97 in 2015, according to the statement.

In remarks to The Jordan Times in June, Zaben said Jiza, located in the south of Amman, suffers from security issues, especially caused by those “who claim to be influential”.

“The district governor and the police are very weak in the area. Even the education director was attacked [recently] and could not do anything against the perpetrators. The schools are becoming more like battlefields,” he added.

Marking a judicial precedent, a First Instance Court in late November sentenced two assailants of teachers to prison terms, according to the JTA.

Judge Bassam Khawaldeh of the Aqaba Court of First Instance made the "unprecedented" ruling against a man and his wife who attacked two female teachers last year.

Attacks on teachers are continuing even after the Cabinet approved amendments to the Penal Code in November that stiffen penalties against those who assault educators and medical personnel.

The amended law, which was referred to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau, stipulates no less than a one-year prison term for those who attack teachers, faculty members at colleges and universities, nurses and doctors while they are on duty.

The punishment also applies if the educators or healthcare workers are attacked for an action or decision they have taken in their professional capacity.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday said the government has developed a comprehensive system for human rights in the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The system was developed in implementation of the recommendations listed in the National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) report on the condition of human rights in Jordan during 2014 under Royal directives, Ensour said on the occasion of Human Rights Day, annually marked on December 10.

AMMAN — Ties between Jordan and Japan were strengthened by the two nations' cooperation in response to the murder of Japanese nationals by the Daesh terror group in Syria, Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai said Wednesday.

“[The Japanese prime minister] appreciates the roles assumed by Jordan for peace and stability, not only in the region, but in the international community,” Sakurai said in a speech at an event in Amman to mark Japan's national day, which commemorates the birthday of the Emperor Akihito.

“We faced the very challenging incident regarding the murder of Japanese nationals in Syria… I would like to express my sincere appreciation to His Majesty King Abdullah [and] the government of Jordan for giving us the ungrudging support,” he continued.

“Through [tackling] the incident together, I [was] assured that the ties between both countries proceeded to the upper stage and we have the shared the idea that Jordan and Japan stand by each other,” he added. 

The ambassador noted that despite the challenges in the region, Jordan is still one of the best destinations for tourists.

“Indeed, there is the well-known platform in Jordan to welcome tourists with hospitality... We ... are also a strong supporter to promote the development of tourism in Jordan,” he said.

Sakurai added that while his first year in Jordan since arriving last November “has not been an easy one”, he has gained valuable experiences through working with Jordanians. 

Eisaku Ikegami, director of the Japanese embassy’s cultural sector, said events like these introduce more Japanese traditions to the Jordanian people. 

“We are more than happy to share the Japanese culture… I want to let Jordanians know we have more than sushi and samurai,” Ikegami told The Jordan Times.

He noted that the two countries share common cultural characteristics, such as a tradition of hospitality. 

“Many Jordanians know and love Japanese animation, but I want the Jordanian people to know more about Japan. I hope Jordanians know more about the agriculture, the history and the food,” the embassy official added. 

Ghassan Hilow, a second-year university student who attended the event, told The Jordan Times that his interest in Japan originally developed from being a fan of the animated show “Detective Conan”, which is also known as "Case Closed". 

But he has since come to appreciate how the spirit of the family is still present in both Jordanian and Japanese cultures. 

AMMAN — EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana headed a delegation of EU member states' ambassadors that visited the Azraq Refugee Camp on Thursday.

The delegation was briefed on the situation in the camp and visited several projects, including a health clinic and an EU-funded school. Currently, 28,335 Syrian refugees are registered in Azraq camp, which has a capacity of 50,000, according to an EU statement.

"The EU and its member states recognise Jordan's generous hospitality in hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees despite the acute economic and social challenges," the statement quoted Fontana as saying.

"I am encouraged to see that there is still capacity here in Azraq camp to accommodate Syrian refugees in need of protection," he added. "Jordan should not shoulder this burden alone... and the EU will not take Jordan for granted at this critical juncture," the ambassador said.

AMMAN — King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben on Thursday received US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh Brett Mcgurk, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Zaben and Mcgurk discussed army cooperation, and regional and international developments.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Thursday celebrated the recent conclusion of a service delivery project within the municipality, which was developed by Deloitte Consulting.

The eight-month project, called CityPerform, aimed at improving service delivery to residents and formed part of the municipality's plans to enhance its work, said Nisrin Aaraj, adviser for projects at GAM.

Yousef Dalabeeh, GAM's executive director for environment, said the municipality has achieved "major progress" in solid waste management, a process that requires the participation of GAM's various environment institutions.

"Having multiple directorates responsible for these processes required the establishment of a programme to monitor these tasks from start to finish," Dalabeeh noted.

The CityPerform project was loosely based on the world-renowned municipal management innovation called "CitiStat", which was popularised in the US city of Baltimore and brought transparency to decision making through regular accountability sessions, according to a GAM statement.

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said decisions to manage services can sometimes be made without clear goals and the necessary data to inform municipal work.

"Our collaboration with Deloitte has resulted in a standard, repeatable process based on best international practices," Biltaji added.

The project did not have a specific budget, since it only involved training courses for GAM employees and conducting studies to improve the municipality's performance, according to the municipality.

AMMAN — The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) organised on Wednesday a tour of the Baptism Site for representatives of Egyptian tourism agencies concerned with Christian pilgrimages for Egyptian Copts, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

JTB Director General Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat said the tour is part of the board's plans for promotion and marketing in order to increase the number of visitors.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday inaugurated the development and expansion project of the Jerash visitors centre implemented by the Tourism Ministry, and the Hashemite Park project implemented under a Royal makruma in Bab Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Ensour toured the Jerash visitors centre and was briefed by Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez on the details of the JD0.5 million project. The Hashemite Park project, formerly known as Bab Amman Park, cost JD1.5 million and extends on a space of eight dunums.