Baladna Project

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A young Jordanian student at the UWC, Wales, initiated the program (Baladna) after the bombings in Amman. He proposed that a group of students from UWC visit Jordan and interact with the Jordanian community.

 

- Phase I : 14 international students attended in addition to a 100 Jordanians.- Phase II : 20 international students attended in addition to a 100 Jordanians. Main aims:

1. To raise political, environmental and international awareness.

2. To bridge the gaps between the Arab and the western youth.3.Exchange the knowledge that we have gained during our rich experience at AC with that of the youth in the Jordanian university.4.To get introduced to the Palestinian Refugees life in Jordan.

During our visits to the universities we have presented four major presentation titled as following:

 

a. ‘UWC and AC’…. in order to introduce who we are and where we come from, indicating the ideals of the UWC movement.b. ‘Internationalism’… this presentation aimed to introduce the Jordanian youth to major modern concepts and movements, namely: Internationalism and Globalization. Furthermore, the presentation pointed out the media effects on forming prejudices and hence expanding the gaps between various cultures.c. ‘Political Action’… which aimed to motivate and inspire the Jordanian youth to participate in political life. This came through sharing our experience in political life at the college. Also the presentation emphasized on the importance of community service as a tool of community development. d. ‘Environmental Action’… This aimed at raising environmental awareness and promoting environmental action involving both local and global issues. This was shown through some personal experiences of foreign student in the group.

 

The audience, never the less, wasn’t as big in number as we have aimed and hoped for. Still, we strongly believe that we have left great affect in a limited proportion consisting of motivated students.

 

The other main part of the project was visiting a Palestinian refugee camp. This was an effective practical employment of the UWC ideals we have gained at the college. This was done by blending in with the youth at the camp; through discussing serious issues, drawing, singing and even dancing!