Newsletter february 2014 - Global Platform Jordan

WHAT IS HAPPENING AT GLOBAL PLATFORM JORDAN? February 2014

WE HAVE OUTGROWN OUR HOUSE The number of both training participants and working colleagues at Global Platform Jordan is increasing, but this unfortunately does not apply to the size of our home. For a while, the GP Jordan villa has been too small to fit all of us, and office spaces and dorms have become one. Although this has not been a huge problem, we are happy to say that we have finally signed the contract for a new, much bigger villa.

There is a lot of work to be done before the new place becomes the youth hub of our dreams, but we look forward to having a house that looks just the way we want, and we will make sure to get back with pictures.

Goodbye to the dog (a very, very fat cat), the garden, the street – and thanks to the villa for having provided a great base for activism, training, inspiration, and a good atmosphere for one and a half year.

February 2014

FOLLOW-UP ON THE REGIONAL TRAINING OF TRAINERS As reported in our last newsletter, Global Platform Jordan recently had a visit from 19 energetic and engaged youth activists from several places in the Arab Region. The reason was a newly-designed two-week 'Training of Trainers' in Arabic to promote youth mobilization and leadership. The training resulted in a workshop for students at Al-Mashreq School created and conducted by the participants themselves. Leading up to this workshop the participants were challenged to perform a flash mob in Downtown Amman to push their limits and break the barrier of fear of acting in public.

During the 4-hour session at the high school the participants had an opportunity to practically apply what they had learned into public presentations, and for several of them this was a first-time experience. Sandy Naffa, age 24, said afterwards that in the beginning of the session she felt that she was not in control of the situation but eventually she started enjoying working with the students and the other trainers. ”After the session I understood more what was the weak points, what exactly went wrong, and what made things get better” Sandy said; ”I found that I'm passionate about training others.”

According to Lana Almahayni, age 24, one of the most important outcomes of the training was that all participants found confidence to speak in public and letting other people speak as well. In particular, she enjoyed the sessions incorporating role-playing, brainstorming, and the session about different types of coaches. She was really happy about the chance to actually get to effect and influence young people in the high school session but she was surprised by their evaluation: ”I did not expect so much positive response!”

On the way home from the high school the atmosphere in the bus was oozing with enthusiasm and team spirit. The preceding 2-weeks of training had equipped the group with skills, knowledge and attitude through participatory training methods, and the spirit in the bus appeared as if the participants had just had a successful examination. After two nights of evaluation and celebration, the participants went home to all parts of the Region, and the Platform said goodbye to a diverse unit of

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February 2014

skilled new trainers. ”We were working together all the time and discussing and getting more ideas”, Lana said. ”I hope that one day we all meet again!”

CULTURE NIGHT AT GLOBAL PLATFORM JORDAN On an ordinary Monday in late February, Global Platform Jordan hosted a cultural event including dance, games, dishes and good atmosphere both from the Arab World and Scandinavia.

Seven young Danish global volunteers kick-started their stay in Palestine with three weeks stay at the Platform in Jordan. In between lessons in Arab culture, language, and specific skills in training for change, the participants used Amman

for

exploring

Middle Eastern culture.

The ‘Cultural Night’ was on one hand part of this exploration and on the other it was an opportunity for the volunteers to show and tell guests about Danish culture. This way the evening ended up being a blend of traditions from two very different parts of the world. The night included traditional Arab music and dance, Danish games such as ‘Pakkeleg’ and ‘Katten af Tønden’, and snacks from both the Danish and Arabian cuisine. Everyone was eager to learn about the other culture, and the evening was filled with laughter and overall good ambience.

On the 5th of March the Danish Volunteers will leave for Palestine and Global Platform wishes them a voluntary stay rich in experiences. Thanks for this time!

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February 2014

COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZATION WITH DJUCO On request from the Danish Jordanian University Cooperation (DJUCO) Global Platform Jordan held a training

called

”Mobilization

Communication

and

Organization Building”. The purpose was to provide core members of DJUCO Student Forum (DSF) with capacity

to

mobilize and recruit new members in order to initiate and build DSF. The goal of the training was multifaceted, and the

DJUCO members were

among other things introduced to campaigning methods,

organizational

planning,

and

participatory learning. The trainers also assisted DJUCO in defining their vision, mission, and objectives. Emilie Nydam Andersen, age 25, from DSF expressed afterwards that she thought that the training had been motivating, intense and inspiring. She was very satisfied ”to see things move forward and see decisions being made as the training progressed.” At GPJ we look forward to hearing how things evolve after our training.

A THREE-STEP PLAN FOR MAKING CITIES SAFE In a few months three youth groups from the ActionAid partner organizations in Russeifa will carry out the Safe City Campaign. This campaign is an Activista International campaign that encourages and leads youth to take a stand in their cities and end violence. The hope of the Russeifa campaign is to target violence and harassment against women and girls in the community. It will be a joint collaboration with youth from Activista, youth groups in Zarqa, Irbid, and Russeifa.

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February 2014

In order to prepare the members of the youth groups for this campaign, Global Platform Jordan offers a three track training plan, initially to build up their leadership skills and subsequently to build up their campaigning skills. First part of the training was called ”Foundational Leadership: Russeifa” and was held last weekend of February and first weekend of March. Cooperation between the three groups is imperative to carry out the Safe City Campaign, so this first training is primarily aimed at improving the interrelationship between the youth groups.

In January the Platform held a similar training for youth groups from the AA partner organizations in Russeifa that achieved outstanding results, meeting the aims to build up an active youth group in Russeifa and also encouraging community leadership.

Sarah Sweilem from the Platform was in charge of conducting needs assessment together with the organizations in order to make the training track, and she also trained the first leadership seminar. She says that to begin with she experienced some challenges in the cooperation. ”I was worried that the different groups did not have one clear vision”, she says. However, after starting the trainings something changed, and by the end of the course the participants told her that they felt like 'brothers and sisters'. ”I am looking forward to seeing this again with the new participants, and I am especially excited to get closer to kicking off the campaign”.

The participants are between the ages of 18-26 and they are usually university students and also volunteers in their organizations. Sarah says that even if the youth groups are really committed to making change and are reflective about issues of their community, they need guidance and support, and this is why Global Platform Jordan steps in with trainings in leadership and campaigning skills. These four days of training will be focusing on providing the participants with skills in leadership and working on the three different groups as one cohesive team.

PLATFORM NEIGHBORS IN THE WORKS Being the only platform in the Middle East, Global Platform Jordan has felt a bit lonely.

However, the Training4Change community is growing, and because of an increasing interest in our trainings at GP Jordan, ActionAid Denmark is looking into launching two

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February 2014

new platforms in the Arab Region, currently assessing options in Palestine and Egypt together with local partners.

In line with GP Jordan, the new platforms will hopefully provide a hub for young activists to learn new skills, socialize, and be inspired to work for positive social change in their society. We promise to get back with more details on our future neighbors once things have settled.

Where we are – Where we plan to be

UPCOMING TRAININGS AND EVENTS 9.-20. March: Doctivist – Visual Storytelling 20. March: Doctivist Film Screening

Keep an eye on Facebook regarding what time of the day 27. March – 5. April: Video Campaigning

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February 2014

LET’S COOPERATE!

Global Platform Jordan is one of ActionAid’s training hubs for empowerment and activism. We provide innovative and empowering trainings for young individuals, organisations and youth groups who wish to take positive actions in their societies.

You are always welcome to contact us; email: globalplatformjordan@ms.dk

www.globalplatforms.org/jordan www.facebook.com/globalplatformmyanmar www.youtube.com/globalplatforms

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