Overview
The King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) launched the Parliamentary Fellowship Project in its first phase with the aim of translating His Majesty King Abdullah II's visions in the field of youth political empowerment into practical programs, providing them with insight into the legislative and oversight role of the Parliament.
The inception of the project coincided with the 20th anniversary of His Majesty the King's assumption of his constitutional powers in 2019.
In its first cycle, the project saw the implementation of a capacity-building program involving 147 young men and women, who were trained on a range of skills that would qualify them to assist members of Parliament (MPs) through fellowship. The training included communication skills, dialogue, critical thinking, human rights, political and parliamentary work in Jordan, and democracy and civil society.
Based on the impact assessment of the project through participant evaluations and feedback from the MPs and the General Secretariat of the Parliament, the project has achieved success in both its theoretical and practical stages. The participants were able to fulfill the project's objectives by providing assistance to the MPs they worked with, deepening their knowledge of the Parliament's role and mechanisms of work. Additionally, some of these young men and women joined the House's research department as interns, while others joined the media department.
Development Plan of the Project (Parliamentary Fellowship)
Based on the impact study of the first cycle of the project and its positive yield, King Abdullah II Fund for Development developed the project's competency area. The aim was to focus on integrating youth into political life and contributing to the development of the performance of the Parliament by providing research assistants to the MPs. These aides are responsible for conducting research and providing supporting information on drafts laws or issues raised for discussion by the lawmakers. This would contribute to the emergence of a generation of young people who understand the role of the Parliament as part of the political process, believe in the role of informed and engaged deputies, and who can form real nuclei for future members of Parliament. Thus, it is an important step in developing the performance of the Lower House, not only in the present stage but also in the future, when some of these aides may become elected representatives in the legislature.
Project Objectives
- Familiarize youth with the legislative and oversight role of the Parliament and its mechanisms of work
- Create capable youth leaders who can bring about change by increasing their awareness of various national issues and challenges
- Expand youth participation in public life in general and political life in particular.
- Providing youth with the opportunity to receive practical training at legislative and oversight institutions.
- Honing the participants' personal skills in various fields.
Targeted Segment
• Youth aged 20-30.
Priority is given to young graduates with the following majors: political science, international relations, law, economics, accounting, financial sciences, and banking.
Main Tasks for Participants
- Providing periodic research related to domestic affairs and major challenges facing various sectors
- Conducting studies on draft laws
- Contributing to the preparation of memos for MPs as the basis of their talking points and remarks during committee meetings.
- Providing policy papers and situation assessments when needed by the Lower House's Permanent Office.
- Gathering information about parliamentary queries MPs plan to submit
Work Mechanism
1- Participant Selection:
Seventy-five young men and women are selected from various governorates through two stages:
- First stage: Evaluation of applications received for the project, which is announced during the application period.
- Second stage: Personal interviews, during which participants for project activities are selected based on the following criteria:
- Possessing leadership qualities
- Trainability
- Having a reasonable level of knowledge about political, parliamentary, and research work
2- Training: Participants are divided into three groups, and each undergoes nine days of theoretical training, followed by six months of practical training during the ordinary session of the Parliament. The theoretical training covers the following main topics:
- - Fundamental Skills:
Presentation and communication skills, advocacy and persuasion techniques, idea generation, types of thinking, and brainstorming.
3- Political Life in Jordan:
The evolution of constitutional, legislative, and parliamentary life, types of parliamentary committees and their functions, mechanisms of parliamentary committee work, parliamentary blocs, the Legislation and Opinion Bureau and its work mechanisms, legislative stages in Jordan.
4- Democracy-related concepts:
The concept of democracy, social and national identity, civil state, civil society.
5- Research Skills:
Information sources, main research methodologies, legal research, formal theories in legal research, substantive theories in legal research, dual-purpose research methodologies (formal and substantive), research methodologies in political science, scientific research tools, research tools/questionnaires, research tools/interviews and observation, preparing policy papers.
Achievements
- Development of a training manual for the project and depositing it at the National Library.
- Holding several educational sessions for participants, discussing topics such as 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, legislative stages and mechanisms in Jordan, the role of youth in maintaining national security, the role of the General Secretariat in managing the Lower House.
- Developing training materials covering topics such as persuasion techniques, political and parliamentary life, political and legal research, preparing policy papers, political media and communication skills, democratic state and civil society, and human rights.
- The participation of 314 young men and women in theoretical training.
- The engagement of 292 young men and women in practical training at the Lower House.