Seminar "Jordanian Youth and Sustainable Community Development" Held in Yarmouk

Aug 11, 2022 
The Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission, Eng. Musa Al-Maayta, sponsored the opening of the activities of the seminar "Jordanian Youth and Sustainable Community Development" organized by the Queen Rania Center for Jordanian Studies and Community Service and the Center for Sustainable Development Studies, in the presence of the President of the University, Dr. Islam Mossad, and with the participation of the former Minister of Culture Sabri Arbihat, the former President of the Supreme Council for Youth, Dr. Atef Odaibat, and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Ali Al-Khawalda.
In his speech, Maayta said that the Independent Electoral Commission is working within the national campaign to promote popular participation in political life, through which we target all segments of society in general, youth and women in particular.
He stressed the Authority's keenness on the need to target young people first in translation of the royal directives, and work to raise their political awareness and integrate them into political life and motivate them to engage in effective political work by maximizing the thought of organized and meaningful collective work among young people instead of individual work.
Al-Maayta stressed the importance of the role of educational institutions in general and universities in particular in spreading awareness and enhancing the confidence of young people in seriousness in reform and modernization through the application of the system of party work in universities, which is expected to be launched as soon as possible, and the promotion of basic concepts and political and democratic work, the most important of which is the rule of law, acceptance of the other, communication and communication skills, which called on the Authority to hold a series of events in cooperation with educational institutions at the level of schools and universities through the program (I participate in universities) and (I am I share schools) that aim to spread awareness among Jordanian youth cognitively, emotionally and skillfully, invest their energies and guide them in the right direction.
Al-Maayta thanked Yarmouk University for this initiative in developing the laws of the elections of the Student Union in it and encouraging its students to engage in partisan and political work, which should be circulated to various Jordanian universities, especially since the basic political work in Jordan's near future will be starting with student unions in universities.
For his part, the President of the University, Dr. Islam Massad, in his speech delivered during the opening of the symposium activities, welcomed the participants in the rehab of Yarmouk University, which has always been a beacon of scientific and civilizational radiation, and a center for enlightenment and refinement of knowledge, and said that the opening of this scientific event comes under the slogan "Jordanian Youth and Sustainable Community Development", and with the participation of specialists in youth affairs from the public and private sectors, civil society institutions, research centers and universities, which confirms the distinctive and participatory role played by Yarmouk in extending the hand of partnership Cooperation with national and civil society institutions.
Massad stressed that the issues of Jordanian youth are a national priority present at the highest levels in the Jordanian state, and the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II to the government have always stressed the importance of giving Jordanian youth the care and attention they deserve, and ways to empower them in all aspects of economic, political and social life, pointing out that universities and their students from Jordanian youth have received royal patronage  His Majesty's recent directives to the government and the higher education sector in particular call for the organization of political and partisan work within universities through the issuance of a special system to this end.
He said that Yarmouk University, inspired by the royal directives and picked up the high royal messages, launched the "Youth Summer 2022", a youth season that contains an unprecedented number of events and qualitative activities that meet the needs of the student in a modern, interactive manner that inspires in the university students, its family and its surroundings from Jordanian society the values of participatory work, social responsibility and creative critical thinking towards a better tomorrow, God willing.
For his part, the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Queen Rania Center for Jordanian Studies and Community Service, Dr. Abdul Basit Othmaneh, delivered a speech in which he pointed out that sustainable community development includes all aspects of life, and imposes on the population the economy in the depletion of its non-renewable resources, pointing out that just as the basic requirements of life such as food, drink and housing are of great importance in maintaining human life at the best possible level, that development has qualitative dimensions that go beyond all that towards empowerment in all its economic, political and social dimensions.
Regarding Jordanian youth, Al-Athamneh said that his strong determination and unrelenting determination enable him to overcome various difficulties, in the presence of a stimulating environment, real empowerment initiatives, and solid bridges to cross to a bright tomorrow.
During the seminar, Arbihat said that since the beginning of history, man's relationship with the earth determines the fabric and shape of society and its culture, asking: Is our current society and environment better than it was in the past? Are relations within society healthy and satisfactory?, and are we playing our part with the events that are going on around us in the region correctly?.
Arbihat continued: Is the change that is happening in our society compatible with all the change and development taking place in the world or are we living in a state of cultural and societal delay, stressing the need for the desired change to be dynamic and able to make people more able to respond to the changes and stimuli around them.
On the role of universities in serving society, Arbihat pointed to the extent to which universities interact with what is going on around them in societies, and wondered whether education shackles the individual so as not to interact with his society, stressing the need for free will among young people and to be a conscious human being of his role, pointing to the inputs that society needs to draw appropriate policies around young people, the most important of which is the awareness of their developmental needs, the volume of energy and time they have, and the availability of windows and programs for management and investment, in order to benefit from this energy. In the development of societies.
During his speech, Al-Odaibat expressed his pride and pride in the Jordanian youth and their technical, skilled and administrative abilities, pointing out that the Jordanian youth led qualitative campaigns for development and modernization in various fields in a number of brotherly countries, but at the local level the youth did not play the role expected of them in bringing about change and achieving sustainable community development, explaining that sustainable development includes many aspects, and at the economic level youth did not play their role in economic development, a third of Jordanian youth and perhaps half are unemployed. They are arguably politically absent, especially after what we have witnessed from the reluctance to participate in the recent parliamentary elections, calling on the concerned authorities to study the real reasons behind this reluctance to participate and find appropriate solutions in order to encourage them to engage in military and political work.
He said that the participation of youth in the political and partisan process is the only way to bring about change, reform and achieve sustainable development, especially with the presence of the supreme political will of the country's leader, and positive legislation that establishes the importance of the role of youth and their involvement in party work, pointing out that despite any obstacles that can stand in the way of youth participation in political work, young people should realize that they have the final say in bringing about change, which will only be achieved by the will of the people and youth.
For his part, Al-Khawalda thanked Yarmouk University for holding this seminar, which discusses an important youth topic, which is political participation, which means participation in decision-making and management, hence the importance of the participation of the people and youth in political and party life, stressing the importance of the role of universities in researching the real reasons why young people do not go to polling stations, and intensifying awareness programs to introduce parties, life and party and political participation and the importance of youth involvement in them.
He added that the youth today have a historic opportunity to enable them to engage in political and partisan work, as the new legislation came to remove the obstacles that stand as for the participation of young people in party and political life, while stressing the responsibility placed on the parties in putting forward party development programs that are applicable and measurable and meet the aspirations of Jordanian youth, stressing that the empowerment of youth today at all levels is no longer the responsibility of the government only, but there is a great responsibility on the youth themselves, universities, educational institutions and the local community. As a whole, there is a concerted effort and a strengthened will to bring about positive change and political reform in a way that meets their aspirations and achieves Jordan's supreme interest.
The former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Hamid Bataineh, moderated the seminar, and said that since the establishment of the Jordanian state, the emphasis was placed on the need to train human cadres to be responsible for building the state and its institutions, and the importance of activating the real partnership between various bodies from the government, national institutions, the private sector and civil society institutions with a focus on involving young people in the process of building and developing the state.
Batayneh stressed the importance of scientific research in addressing various societal issues and challenges, calling for the establishment of a higher body for scientific research directly linked to the Prime Minister with financial allocations directly from the state treasury in order to find effective solutions to the challenges and issues that concern society through scientific research.
At the end of the seminar, which was attended by MP Mohamed Shatnawi, a number of deans, faculty members, university students, and a number of officials at the university and the local community, an extensive dialogue took place through which the speakers answered the questions and inquiries of the attendees.