Overview
Coinciding with the Kingdom’s celebrations of the second decade of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, King Abdullah II Fund for Development launched a Fellowship Project with the House of Representatives (in its first phase) through All Jordan Youth Commission (AJYC) aiming to translate the royal visions into political empowerment of youth to create practical programs and gain knowledge about the legislative and supervisory roles of “House of Representatives”.
The first round of the project was implemented in 2019, with capacities building of 147 young men and women on a set of skills that qualified them to provide assistance to MPs through their Fellowship which included: training in communication, dialogue, and thinking skills. Besides, training on human rights, political and parliamentary work in Jordan, democracy, and civil society.
Based on project impact measurement throughout the evaluation of participants and given feedback by representatives and General Secretariat of House of Representatives, the project turned out to be successful in both theoretical and practical stages, as participants were able to play the role that achieves project objectives by providing assistance to MPs whom they worked with which gave young men and women an in-depth knowledge of parliament house’s role and its working mechanism. Moreover, a number of participants joined the Research Department of the Parliament House as trainees, and others joined the Media Department.
Parliamentary Fellowship Project’s Development Plan
KAFD developed the project area of competence based on a study of both the First Cycle of the project and the positive impact it had, aiming to focus the service provided within the framework of integrating youth into political life and contributing to the development of the House of Representatives-performance, by providing research assistants to MPs who undertake researching task and provide supporting information for either draft legislation or issues for discussion.
Therefore, this would contribute to having a young generation who is aware of the House of Representatives’ role as part of the political process, and believing in the responsibility of the knowledgeable and conscious MP. The project helps to constitute a real core for future MPs, and thus an important step in developing the performance of the parliament house not only at the current stage, but also in the future when some of the participants can reach the dome as elected MPs.
Objectives:
• Offer young Jordanians the opportunity to observe the decision-making process in the Parliament.
• Develop young leaders who are capable of making change by increasing their awareness of the various national issues and challenges.
• Broadening the base for young Jordanians’ participation in public life.
• Provide an opportunity for young Jordanians to have practical training/internship in the legislative and supervisory institutions.
• Improve the skill-set of participants to expand their personal and professional horizons.
Targeted Group
Young Jordanians in the 20 - 30 age range.
Priority is given to the following majors (Political Science, International Relations, Law, Economics, Accounting, Financial and Banking Sciences).
Participants Main Tasks:
- Provide periodic research related to internal affairs in the field of major challenges in various sectors.
- Present studies on draft legislation-laws.
- Contribute to preparing memos for MPs to assist them in their interventions within committee meetings.
- Submit policy papers and situation assessment to the permanent office within the House of Representatives when needed.
- Collect information about parliamentary questions and interrogations that MPs are willing to discuss.
Working Mechanism
1- Participants Selection
Select (75) young men and women from different governorates in two phases:
Phase One: Evaluating the application sent to the project which is announced during the period of receiving applications
Phase Two: Conducting personal interviews and selecting the participants in the project activities according to the following criteria:
- A Leadership Personality.
- A Learnable Personality.
- A Reasonable Awareness Level of Political, Parliamentary and Research
2- Training
Participants are divided into three groups where each group undergoes nine days of theoretical training, followed by 6 months of practical application during the regular session of the House of Representatives. The theoretical training includes the following main topics:
1- Basic skills
- Presentation, Communication Skills, Lobbying, Belief Making, How the Idea is Generated, Types of Thinking, and Brainstorming.
2- Political life in Jordan
- The Development of Constitutional, Legislative and Parliamentary Life.
- Types of Parliamentary Committees and Their Tasks
- Parliamentary Committees Working Mechanisms
- Parliamentary Caucuses
- Legislation and Opinion Bureau and its Working Mechanisms
- Legislation Stages in Jordan.
3- Concepts of Democracy
- Concept of Democracy, Social and National Identity, the Civil State, and Civil Society.
4- Research skills
- Sources of Information Research, Main Approaches, Legal Research, Formal Theories in Legal Research, Objective Theories in Legal Research, Research Theories of a Dual Nature (Formal and Substantive), Research Methods in Political Science, Scientific Research Tools, Research Tools / Questionnaire, Research Tools / Interview and Observation, and Policy Papers Preparation.
Accomplishments (2019):
1. A training manual for the project has been developed and registered at the National Library.
2. A group of 147 young men and women have received cognitive training.
3. The group has received political training.
4. The group has participated in awareness sessions, where the following topics were discussed: (The history of Jordan, Jordanian foreign policy between constants and variables, the Hashemite approach to governance, political and parliamentary life in Jordan, youth and contemporary media, stages, and mechanisms of legislation in Jordan, the role of youth in maintaining national security, the role of the General Secretariat in managing the Parliament).
5. A subgroup of 24 participants has received training on advocacy skills.
6. A subgroup of 21 participants has received training on political and legal research skills.
7. A subgroup of 18 participants has received training on media and social media.
8. A total number of 135 participants have participated in the actual fellowship with the MPs.