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MREIJEB AL FHOUD — ICT Minister Azzam Sleit on Monday checked on computer training courses offered at the UAE-run Syrian refugee camp in Mreijeb Al Fhoud.

Sleit said the training improves Syrian refugees’ computer skills and qualifies them to apply for ICDL certificates, offering them the chance to obtain useful skills.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Hussein Majali on Monday met with UNICEF Representative Rozanne Chorlton and discussed ways to boost cooperation with the agency, especially with regard to programmes and services provided to Syrian refugees.

The minister said increasing the level of cooperation and implementing joint projects should mitigate the pressure on Jordan’s economy.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met on Monday with Libya’s Transport Minister Abdel-Qader Mohamed Ahmed and discussed ways to boost cooperation.

They examined ways to help Libya benefit further from Jordanian expertise in the field of land and maritime transport.

Ahmed conveyed Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan’s greetings, commending the outcome of his recent visit to Jordan.

AMMAN — Today’s leaders should listen to the younger generation, HRH Princess Sumaya, chairman of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) board of trustees, said on Monday.

Inaugurating the third conference of the Model UN Club at PSUT, she noted that future conflicts will be related to sustainable development and the need to provide sufficient amounts of water and energy.

The princess commended Jordan’s success in dealing with water, energy, environment and food challenges.

Students, participating as representatives of different UN member states, highlighted several international issues and voted on resolutions during the conference sessions.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday called Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to congratulate him over the success of the surgery he underwent recently.

The King also sent a cable to Sheikh Sabah expressing his wishes of good health, as well as progress and prosperity to the people of Kuwait.

AMMAN — A new draft municipalities law seeks to move towards decentralisation as it shifts the decision-making authority from the ministry to governorates in a number of cases, Municipal Affairs Minister Walid Masri said on Monday.

"This law can be considered a step ahead towards achieving local governance, instead of local management," he said, adding that it seeks to improve the representation and the authority of municipal and local councils.

In a discussion titled "Towards a consensual municipalities law", Masri noted that the draft will be referred to the Lower House to undergo possible amendments, without specifying the date of its submission.

The new law allows the formation of alliances among municipal councils in order to develop the services provided to citizens, and is part of a reform plan for municipalities to enhance their autonomy and improve services, the minister noted.

Representatives of political parties, municipal officials and deputies provided their comments on the draft law, which Masri "promised" to look into.

Former MP Abla Abu Olbeh, secretary general of the Jordanian Democratic People’s Party (Hashed), said the bill, along with the existing Elections Law and the Political Parties Law, need to undergo changes to guarantee "legislative stability" and avoid repetitive amendments.

Abu Olbeh praised the draft's proposal to form elected governorate and municipal councils with representatives from across the professional and social spectrum.

"However, the draft mentions that voting for the governorate council's president and vice president is either by consensus or majority vote, which does not suit the democracy we seek," she said, suggesting a majority vote of 50 per cent plus one.

Abu Olbeh, who was a member of the Royal Committee for Enhancing National Integrity, also noted the bill's "discrimination" between municipalities based on their population. 

The financial allocations for municipalities should be governed by a fair system to avoid depriving small municipalities of services and development projects, she added.

The draft law maintains the percentage of women's representation on municipal councils at 25 per cent.

"Women's participation should be encouraged by holding popular meetings to educate them on what municipal councils do and offering them more incentives to participate," Abu Olbeh said.

Marwan Faouri, former secretary general of the Municipal Affairs Ministry, highlighted municipalities' contribution to the creation of popular and political leaders, noting that "constant meddling" with municipal laws caused the deterioration of that role.

Faouri stressed the need for adopting transparency in municipal elections.

"The draft names the Independent Elections Commission as a supervisor of the voting process, yet also mentions the Interior Ministry and district governors," he said, noting that this implies a kind of dependence on the state.

Faouri also questioned the reason behind reducing the municipalities' share of traffic ticket revenues from 60 to 40 per cent, despite their need for financial support.

The discussion, organised by Al Badeel Centre for Studies and Research in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), sought to recommend amendments to the law to reach a "consensual and democratic form", according to the centre's director, Jamal Khatib.

The German FES works around the world to promote democracy and social justice, according to Anja Wehler-Schoeck, resident director of the foundation, who noted that municipalities play an essential role in deepening these principles. 

"Creating local centres of decision making can limit the risks of the abuse of power and corruption… decentralisation can therefore be an important component of democratisation," she said, adding that municipalities should be supported by a strong legal framework.

"[Municipalities] need sufficient and qualified staff, adequate funding and the necessary infrastructure, as well as communication channels with the public."

AMMAN — Businesses in the region, including Jordan, face unprecedented levels of cyber attacks, according to the Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report, released on Monday

Noting that global security vulnerabilities and threats against systems, applications, and personal networks have reached their highest-ever recorded level, Cisco said Middle Eastern and African countries are at risk as the region is posting strong adoption of smart devices and cloud computing. 

Smart devices are set to grow from 133 million in 2013 to 598 million in 2018, in the region, which is projected to post the world’s-strongest cloud traffic growth rate from 17 exabytes in 2012 to 157 exabytes in 2017, said the report.

“Organisations across the Middle East and Africa must realise that it is no longer if they will targeted by cyber attacks, but rather when,” Hani Raad, general manager, Cisco Levant, said in an e-mail sent to The Jordan Times.

“Chief information security officers face growing pressure to protect terabytes of data on an increasingly porous network, manage information safely, especially on the cloud, and evaluate the risks of working with third-party vendors for specialised solutions — all in the wake of shrinking budgets and leaner IT teams,” Raad added.

However, businesses in Jordan can protect themselves from cyber threats by simple procedures and solutions, according to Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of the Amman-based Arab Advisers Group.

“A majority of small- and medium-sized companies do not upgrade their operating systems, whether they use Apple or Microsoft,” Abbassi said over the phone on Monday.

“For example, when Microsoft notifies users that it has stopped supporting a certain old version of an operating system and they need to upgrade to a newer version, they usually do not upgrade, and this way, they become vulnerable to cyber threats,” he explained.

Abbassi said there is a need for more awareness among local firms on how to protect themselves from cyber attacks, especially since the usage of personal devices for conducting work-related transactions is on the rise in the Kingdom.

“Businesses, regardless of their sector, need to be vigilant. As long as they use the Internet, the risk of being subject to cyber attacks is high; therefore, they should focus on adopting security solutions,” he added.

In its report, Cisco said 65 per cent of employees in businesses across the Middle East do not understand the security risks of using personal devices in the workplace.

Global threat alerts increased 14 per cent year-on-year from 2012 to 2013, with 99 per cent of all mobile malware targeting Android devices, according to the report, which noted that Java was the most frequently exploited programming language, while multipurpose Trojans were the most frequently encountered web-delivered malware.

Of the total malware in 2013, 64 per cent were Trojans, 20 per cent adware, 8 per cent worms, 4 per cent viruses and 4 per cent downloaders. 

Spam volume was down last year, but malicious spam is still a threat, Cisco said, indicating that top themes for spam e-mails include bank deposit/payment notifications, online product purchases, attached photos, shipping notices, online dating sites, and requests for upgrading Facebook profiles.

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Monday engaged with students at the Shajaret Al Dur Elementary School for Girls in activities organised by the Madrasati initiative and the Raneen Foundation.

Established in December 2009 as a Jordanian nonprofit organisation, the foundation produces audio stories for children in classical Arabic to develop their listening skills and strengthen their Arabic language, according to a statement from Her Majesty's office.   

The Queen was briefed on the foundation's activities and collaboration with Madrasati by its founder, Rawan Barakat. 

Madrasati Director Tala Sweis and Ikram Maraqa, the school principal, were also present, the statement said. 

Barakat explained that the Raneen Foundation produces audiobooks recorded in a dramatic way with sound effects and music to inspire children and encourage them to use their imagination and creativity. 

She added that playing these stories to children helps them improve their listening, writing, speaking and acting skills. 

Barakat also told the Queen that the books are specifically made to help visually impaired children enjoy stories and develop their listening skills, according to the statement.

Queen Rania then spoke with fifth graders who were participating in a reflection exercise after listening to one of the foundation's audio stories. The students, along with two teachers, engaged in a discussion about the morals of the story.

At the school library, Her Majesty joined sixth graders in a puppet-making workshop, which was also organised by the Raneen Foundation.   

Queen Rania also spoke with a number of teachers who briefed her on the changes and renovations that took place in their school after the Queen's visit in 2008, when she announced it as one of the Madrasati schools. 

To date, the Raneen Foundation has established an audio library that includes 30 stories written by some of the leading authors in the Arab world and narrated by famous Arab actors. 

Through its partnership with Madrasati, other civil society organisations, women’s societies, and the Ruwwad organisation, the foundation has been able to reach beneficiaries in different governorates across the Kingdom.

A total of 5,000 children in Jordan and 1,000 children in the UAE have benefitted from the foundation, which also plans to extend its outreach to more governorates in Jordan as well as other Arab countries. 

The Raneen Foundation has also trained 450 teachers and mothers on new and creative storytelling methods. 

The foundation won the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement in 2009, The Synergos Award for Social Innovation in 2011, and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Arab Youth Globally Influential in 2013. 

AMMAN — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday called on the Jordanian community and students residing in Ukraine to exercise extreme caution in light of the circumstances Ukraine is going through. 

The ministry urged around four thousand Jordanians living in Ukrainia to stay away from areas where demonstrations or rallies may be taking place. 

In a statement, the ministry called on Jordanians residing in Ukraine to call the ministry’s operations centre on 5735166 in case of emergency. 

They can also call Jordan’s embassy in Moscow on 0074956999564 or the consulate in Moscow at 0079652640696 or 0079265579150. 

Jordan’s cultural counsellor in Ukraine, Ahmad Talhouni, can be reached via mobile on 00380931311411, or landline 00380444843027, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

There are currently 4,500 Jordanians studying in Ukraine, the majority of whom are enrolled in medical schools, according to embassy figures.

Over the past three years, there was a 10 per cent annual rise in the number of Jordanians studying in Ukraine, Ambassador Sergey Pasko said in recent remarks to The Jordan Times. 

Pasko said the increase is related to the regional turmoil, which forced some Jordanians to leave the region to continue their studies in his country.

AMMAN — After Alaa Dajani passed the General Secondary Certificate Examination, he decided to stop studying and look for a decent job unlike many of his peers who went on to seek higher education. 

He was willing to work in any field except the hospitality and tourism sector, believing that he would be too embarrassed to deal with customers. 

However, Dajani’s opinion completely changed when he took part in a training programme for young people to show them job opportunities in the tourism sector. 

“After I learned how beneficial working at hotels can be, I am thinking of studying hotel management when my training ends,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Dajani is one of several young Jordanians who are benefiting from training programmes provided by an advisory committee for the hospitality and tourism sector. 

Waleed Tarawneh, the country director of Global Communities (GC), said the GC launched this training initiative in cooperation with several private sector representatives. 

“We chose the tourism sector because it is one of the sectors that needs the most employees,” he told The Jordan Times after the official launch of the advisory committee on Monday.

Tarawneh said the panel had been working for months before the official launch.

GC is an international nonprofit organisation that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable.

The tourism and hospitality training is part of its Middle East and North Africa Youth Empowerment Programme, which is aimed at enhancing the employability of young Jordanians by partnering with private sector organisations, according to a GC statement.

The tourism and hospitality sector committee seeks to involve trainees in the development of training materials that match their needs, highlight career path developments and reduce the culture of shame, the statement said.  

It consists of 12 members representing hotels, hospitals and restaurants, Tarawneh said at a press conference on Monday. 

“Hospitals are also part of the sector because of medical tourism,” he added. 

Despite contributing around 14 per cent to the gross domestic product, the tourism sector only employs 6 per cent of the country’s workforce, which is lower than the international rate of 15 per cent, according to official figures.

Tarawneh said the GC has also formed several committees for other sectors in partnership with private organisations, to determine the areas in need of training to enhance young people’s employability.

Around three training programmes were held for six months at several hotels, he noted. 

Badiaa Kiswani, another trainee, said she began her training 11 months ago. 

“We had a training camp for five days and then they sent us to several hotels. A great number of trainees went to five-star hotels. The training also included computer and English classes,” she told The Jordan Times.