| Country: |
Jordan |
|
Organization: |
Arab Women Organization of Jordan (AWO) |
| Address: |
P.O.Box: 6864 Amman 11118
Amman, Jordan |
| Tel: |
(962-6) 465 0414 |
| Fax: |
(962-6) 465 0414 |
| E-mail: |
awo@nets.com.jo |
| Coverage: |
250 members
5 branches: Jebal Amman, Wadi Abdoun, Azzuhur, Baqaa Camp, and Madba. |
| Objectives: |
1. Increasing youth participation in environmental protection activities;
2. Raising young women’s awareness on gender related issues, and on their economic and political rights;
3. Providing training courses and supportive services for youth to integrate them in the development process;
4. Improving the living situation of young women in underprivileged urban and rural areas, and in refugee camps through income generating projects. |
| Approach: |
Raising awareness; advocacy; research & publishing; training; development programs. |
| Intervention Sectors: |
1. Education: Vocational training; literacy programs; peer-to-peer training.
2. Employment: Equal opportunities.
3. Health: family planning; nutrition education; sexual & reproductive health; prenatal health; HIV-AIDS; anti tobacco.
4. Social Integration: Outreach programs for vulnerable youth; participation & rights of vulnerable young women.
5. Disabled Young Women: Rights and participation.
6. Environment: Waste management; appropriate technology; solar energy provision.
7. Young Women’s Rights: Equal opportunities; gender based violence.
8. Capacity Building: Enabling environment; leadership development.
9. Political Leadership: Good governance; good citizenship; election campaigns. |
| Leadership: |
Percentage of young women’s membership: 25%
The participation of young women at decision-making levels:
As board members-->28% under 35, and 14% under 28
As committee members--> 25%
As partners in program planning and decision-making--> 15%
As participants and volunteers--> 75% |
| Networking: |
Partners at the national level:
1. Higher Council of Youth;
2. 8 NGOs recipients of funds from Global Environmental Facility/Small Grants Programme/UNDP through an on-line forum;
3. Committee for Women in the General Union of Voluntary Societies( GUVS );
4. Federation of Jordanian Women Organizations;
Partners and members of the ' Arab Network for NGOs ' (regional), and the ' International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'. |
| Involvement: |
Involvement in designing, implementing and evaluating national youth policies:
1. Participated in the preparation of the country program on youth conducted by UNFPA;
2. Involved in gender mainstreaming into the socio-economic development plan on an invitation of the Ministry of Planning;
3. Participated in a youth exchange program through the higher Council of youth. |
| Guidelines/ Participation: |
The participation of young women:
1. As volunteers and trainees;
2. As members and motivators.
Existing policies and guidelines to ensure the participation of young women:
1. Encouragement and support;
2. Leadership training programs for university students;
3. Access to information, including rights and responsibilities;
4. Annual awareness activities for youth on women’s rights;
5. Creating an enabling environment through non-formal education and summer camps;
6. Networking and encouraging young women to participate in workshops organized by other NGOs.
Challenges facing the participation of young women in leadership:
1. Competing priorities and insufficient time especially for university students, working young women, and young mothers;
2. AWO activities can be regarded as too serious for young women. |
| Project: |
Youth Awareness on Reproductive Health and Environmental Issues. |
| Objectives: |
1. Sensitizing youth about the importance of environmental protection;
Raising awareness among young women and men on reproductive health issues, including family planning and HIV-AIDS. |
| Brief: |
This is achieved by:
1. Conducting awareness workshops for boys and girls separately, throughout 15 high-schools;
2. Disseminating information by organizing 15 summer camps for boys and girls separately;
3. Producing a guidebook on reproductive health and environmental issues for youth. |
| Duration: |
1995-1997 |
| Location: |
Madaba governorate. |
| Target Group: |
High-school boys and girls from the Madaba area. |
| Funding: |
UNFPA |
| Results: |
1. Disseminating advocacy material and establishing a training center for youth;
2. Reaching out to more than 1500 students on environmental and reproductive health issues. |
| Future Plans: |
Implementing similar workshops in order to reach out to all high-schools across Jordan. |
| Project 2: |
Youth Outreach Program |
| Objectives: |
Raising awareness among youth, in Jordanian universities, on reproductive health and gender issues, through peer-to-peer training. |
| Brief: |
The project focused on:
1. Conducting educational sessions for 1000 university students;
2. Implementing training sessions for youth volunteers on reproductive health and gender issues, which enables them to carry out peer-to-peer tutoring;
3. Organizing youth camps to discuss project themes, produce ads, and establish electronic communications for further networking. |
| Duration: |
1999-2002 |
| Location: |
All over Jordan through Jordanian universities. |
| Target Group: |
University students: Young women and men. |
| Challenges: |
Tackling very sensitive issues in a rather conservative society can be very challenging. |
| Funding: |
UNFPA |
| Results: |
1. 80 sessions were conducted for 800 university students;
2. 6 summer camps were organized with 18 discussion groups;
3. 30 volunteers were trained in leadership and outreach skills. |
| Future Plans: |
Producing a guidebook for peer-to-peer advocacy on reproductive health and gender issues. |
| Project 3: |
Intergenerational Dialogue on Health and Gender. |
| Objectives: |
Raising family awareness on health and gender issues. |
| Brief: |
Main activities included:
1. Holding roundtables for parents and adolescents to discuss health and gender issues;
2. Undertaking peer-to-peer training on the project themes;
3. Organizing two walkatons for parents and high-school students for message delivery on RH/FP, AIDS, STDs, and gender issues. |
| Duration: |
2002 |
| Location: |
Amman capital, Ajloun governorate, and Jerash governorate. |
| Target Group: |
High-school and university students, and families in local communities. |
| Funding: |
UNF through UNICEF & UNFPA. |
| Results: |
1. Establishing an intergenerational dialogue between parents and adolescents;
2. Organizing 100 seminars for university students. |
| Future Plans: |
Creating an on-line forum for Jordanian youth for the exchange of opinions, experiences and lessons learned. |
