Ammon News - Finn Church Aid (FCA), in partnership with HelpAge International (HAI) and in cooperation with six Jordanian municipalities, organized the "Youth Engagement Strategy" capacity building workshop to enhance the engagement of youth in local economic development strategies of municipalities.

The workshop, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was considered one of the Municipal Businesses Project (2019-2021) activities. It brought together the members of the Local Development Units (LDU) at the municipalities, and youth beneficiaries of the project from each of the targeted municipalities of Mahis, Junaid, Za’atari and Manshiyeh, Dhlail, Sahab and Jerash.

The workshop aimed to enable youth, hand-in-hand with the LDUs, to be key actors in developing plans and strategies that are responsive to the socioeconomic challenges that face their communities. It was conducted in a participatory approach, paving the road for a more structured engagement of young people in discussions and plans pertaining to socioeconomic empowerment efforts and policies at local levels.

This is all aligned with the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah II to boost the contribution and engagement of youth in the development of the local communities and the Jordanian economy.

The workshop comes as a complementary effort to a series of past meetings and workshops that were conducted with the LDUs and the youth beneficiaries to analyse the local socioeconomic needs and challenges that they face.

For the first time in Jordan, the project supported the establishment of local youth business mentors network, who are passionate and have the competency to provide business and technical guidance to local mid-sized enterprises in the targeted areas to assist them in their business growth and sustainability.

The Municipal Businesses Project also aims to reduce the economic and social burden on young people who are taking care of people with disabilities, and the elderly members in their households, by providing these vulnerable individuals with home care support, social and health services, and a referral to other partnering social and health service providers.

Furthermore, the project focuses on developing the capacity of LDU members in designing, planning, implementing of any related projects, and in resource mobilization by equipping them with the needed skills and tools to support their active role and mandate.

FCA is the largest Finnish non-profit multi-mandate organization operating internationally in the field of humanitarian assistance and development, providing services through its offices in 13 countries around the world.

In Jordan, FCA aims to support the educational and the livelihoods opportunities of Syrian refugees and Jordanians, by contributing to leveraging their skills-set and knowledge, and linking them with actual demands in the market.