ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Jordan Economic and Social Council (ESC) recently discussed the youth paper within the State of the Country Report 2021, held both in-person and virtually.

ESC Chairman, Dr. Musa Shteiwi, said addressing youth issues "intersects" with many institutions and not only Ministry of Youth, adding that time has come to redefine the youth ministry's role and strategy to organize and institutionalize the sector.

Shteiwi, in the presence of Youth Minister Mohammad Nabulsi, and a number of experts from the public and private sectors, also lauded the ministry's contribution to developing national youth policies and "remarkable" efforts to advance the youth sector and meet its growing needs.

Continuing: " Challenges facing the ministry still exist, in terms of financial aspects and development of institutional capacities".

Meanwhile, Nabulsi, said the limited budget allocated to the ministry curbs "speedy" achievement, pointing out that there are 16 official bodies concerned with implementing Jordan's National Youth Strategy.

To address obstacles, he said the ministry is working to finalize development of an implementation plan in partnership with all stakeholders.

The ministry, he added, will organize a Ramadan football tournament in which 10,000 young people will participate, based on the gov't role in organizing sporting events to youth, especially amid improvement of Jordan's epidemiological situation and return to normal life.

According to an ESC statement released Saturday, the discussions recommended the need to establish a coordination mechanism to link youth institutions and civil society organizations to support young people and activate their engagement in various activities and revive their role in decision-making.

The session also stressed the need to reinstate youth camps, especially environmental awareness programs and Jordan’s afforestation, the statement added.

In addition, the participants stressed the need to develop "specific and clear" programs, which should be assessed based on qualitative indicators to measure their youth-related impact, highlighting the importance to qualify youth centers to accommodate people with special needs.

Among the hardships facing Jordan's youth sector, they referred to a weakness in government institutions' coordination in regard to youth concerns, recommending the importance of developing a comprehensive and balanced plan that covers various issues, in partnership with all parties.