enabling youth volunteerism for a better future in jordan

89 Pages·2016·1.01 MB·English

ENABLING YOUTH

VOLUNTEERISM FOR

A BETTER FUTURE
IN JORDAN
FINAL REPORT
Submitted by Dr. Haya Al-Dajani
www.britishcouncil.jo
ENABLING YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM FOR A BETTER FUTURE IN JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Report Contributors:
Dr Haya Al-Dajani: INTRAC Lead Consultant
Dr Suzanne Hammad: INTRAC Principal Consultant MENA
Lea Kliem: INTRAC Research Assistant
Reham Younis: British Council Research Project Coordinator
We also wish to thank the Focus Group and Stakeholder Interview
Participants who represented the following organisations:
• Ahl Il Himmeh • Kulluna al Urdun
• AIESEC • LoYAC
• Ana Mish Muhareb Ana Taleb • Ministry of Industry and Trade
• Arab Bank • Ministry of Political
• Bader Fa Anta Kader Development and Parliamentary
• Balqaa University Affairs
• Beit Al Afyeh • Ministry of Social Development
• Eye on the Future • Mujtamaa Shams
• German Jordanian University • Mutah University
• Ghayyer • Roh al Urdun
• Hashemite University • Sharek
• Higher Council for Youth • Takaful
• Ibsher • Tech Tribes
• INJAZ • UCAN Unicef
• Jordan River Foundation • University of Jordan
• Jordan University of Science • Vet Volunteers
and Technology • Yarmouk University
• JUHOD • Y-Peers
• King Abdullah II Fund for • Zikra
Development
Special thanks also go to the participants who represented the follow-
ing organisations at the validation event held on March 1st, 2015:
• 101 Youth Association • All Jordan Youth Commission
• ACTED • Ana Mish Muhareb Ana Taleb
• Aflamy • Anna Lindh Jordan – RIIFS
• Ahl Il Himmeh • Arab Bank
• AIESEC • Bader Fa Anta Kader
• Al-Aman Human Rights Center • Beit Al Afyeh
2
• Community Jo • Ministry of Industry and Trade
• Development Unit - Zarqa'a • Mujtamaa Shams
Municipality • Mutah University
• Eye on the Future • Palliative Care
• Ghayyer • Regional Network for Women
• Global Platform - ActionAid • Roh al Urdun
• Hashemite University • Save the Children
• Hayat Organization • Shabab4Life
• Higher Council for Youth • Sharek
• Ibsher • Takaful
• INJAZ Jordan • UCAN Unicef
• Jordan River Foundation • UNRWA
• Jordan University of Science • Vet Volunteers
and Technology • Wellness House
• JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) • Yarmouk University
• JUHOD • Youth Educational
• King Abdullah II Fund for Development
Development • Youth Network for
• Leaders of Tomorrow Development and Innovation
• Madaba Cultural Forum for • Y-Peers
Children • Zikra
All participants gave their time generously and shared their
enthusiasm, insights, experiences and knowledge frankly, thoughtfully
and sincerely.
Lastly, an extra special thank you goes to the team led by Ms May
Abuhamdia at the British Council – Jordan, and the United Nations
Volunteers team led by Ms Rana Jarhum. Their dedication and
commitment to enabling youth volunteerism and participation in
Jordan and across the MENA region is outstanding.
ENABLING YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM FOR A BETTER FUTURE IN JORDAN TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2
.............................................................................................................................................
ABBREVIATIONS 4
.................................................................................................................................................................
FOREWORD 5
................................................................................................................................................................................
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
...............................................................................................................................................
1. Introduction 9
...................................................................................................................................................................
2. Background 11
...............................................................................................................................................................
3. Purpose of the Study, Aims and Objectives 16
................................................................
4. Methodology 18
............................................................................................................................................................
4.1 Approach 18
...........................................................................................................................................................
4.2 Research Tools 20
.........................................................................................................................................
4.3 Participants 21
....................................................................................................................................................
4.4 Validation Event 24
.......................................................................................................................................
4.5 Analysis 26
................................................................................................................................................................
5. Results 27
...............................................................................................................................................................................
5.1 The institutional policies and frameworks hindering
Jordan’s youth 27
............................................................................................................................................
5.2 The gap between what the youth volunteer wants and
what the Jordanian institutional framework allows 35
...............................
5.3 Overview of the different institutions involved in youth
volunteerism in Jordan 38
..................................................................................................................
5.4 Policy Recommendations 39
..........................................................................................................
6. Conclusions 45
................................................................................................................................................................
7. Looking Forward – Recommended Actions for an Enabling
and Effective Youth Volunteerism Landscape in Jordan 46
.........................
REFERENCES 48
........................................................................................................................................................................
ANNEXES OVERVIEW 52
..............................................................................................................................................
Annex A: Terms of Reference 53
..................................................................................................................
Annex B: English and Arabic versions of the Focus Group
Interview Guide 56
...........................................................................................................................
Annex C: English and Arabic versions of the Stakeholder
Interview Guide 62
...........................................................................................................................
Annex D: English and Arabic Versions of the
Youth Questionnaire 67
............................................................................................................
Annex E: Report on the Validation Event 79
................................................................................
Annex F: Report on the Debate Event 84
........................................................................................
Annex G: List of key informants and study participants 86
....................................
4
ABBREVIATIONS
BC British Council Amman, Jordan
CV Curriculum Vitae
FCYO Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing
KAFD King Abdullah II Fund for Development
MENA Middle East and North Africa
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NPO Non-Profit Organisation
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNV United Nations Volunteers
ENABLING YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM FOR A BETTER FUTURE IN JORDAN FOREWORD 5
FOREWORD
The Arab Youth Volunteering for enhancing their social inclusion
a Better Future Project is an and active participation in the
initiative led by the United socio-economic development of
Nations Volunteers (UNV) their countries. The Regional
programme. It is in line with the Project is implemented in five
regional strategies of the United countries; Egypt, Jordan,
Nations (UN) and United Nations Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen.
Development Programme (UNDP)
and supports the UN Secretary In fulfilling Output 2 as set out in
General’s Five-Year Action the UNV Regional Programme
Agenda (January 2012), in which Document; Institutional
he highlights the importance of frameworks for volunteerism
working with and for young strengthened in the target
people as a priority. countries and the region, the
British Council in coordination
This regional initiative aims to with UNV are pleased to present
harness the power and energy of this report entitled “Enabling
Arab youth through volunteerism, Youth Volunteerism for a Better
drawing on the inherent core Future in Jordan”. This entails an
values of self-help, solidarity and assessment with clear analysis of
social cohesion. the gap between what the youth
volunteer wants and what the
The Regional Project was Jordanian institutional framework
launched in April 2013 and it allows, a cross comparison
works on awareness raising, between the different institutions,
strengthening the institutional and a set of policy related
frameworks of volunteerism, recommendations. The ultimate
building the capacity of youth goal of this report is the
and facilitating youth inclusion enhancement of an enabling
exchange and supporting youth environment for youth
inclusion in formal structures. It volunteerism in Jordan.
thereby works towards
6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Focusing specifically on the 2010) and often muddled with
challenges of youth in the Arab youth development, career
region, volunteering provides a development, employability and /
viable and sustainable means to or civic engagement. Thus, this
address the aspirations of youth, project contributes to bridging
and to turn their grievances and the hindering gap in research on
frustrations into positive energy. this topic, and aims to promote
an enabling environment for
Studies suggest that civic youth volunteerism in Jordan,
engagement in socio-economic through the adoption of a
development contributes to context-appropriate and highly
better development results, participatory approach that
improves efficiency and actively engages youth, key
targeting of basic services, decision-makers and multiple
enhances transparency by stakeholders.
improving accountability, and
facilitates collective action. Through the adoption of a mixed
method, three dimensional
Youth have dynamism and skills approach entailing a combination
that can be harnessed to of focus groups, stakeholder
contribute to the achievement of interviews and a youth survey,
local, national and global this study focused on the
development goals. Similarly, promotion of an enabling
volunteerism can bridge the environment for volunteerism in
transition from formal and Jordan. Doing so contributed to
informal education to paid the fulfilment of Output 2 as set
employment for young people. out in the UNV Regional
Programme Document;
Their participation in a range of Institutional frameworks for
volunteering activities can volunteerism strengthened in the
enhance their life, leadership, target countries and the region.
citizenship, and work-related
skills and qualifications, and Key findings from this study
hence improving their readiness focused on extrapolating a
for employment and civic ‘snapshot’ of Jordan’s youth
engagement. volunteers documenting their
motivations for volunteering,
However, we know very little barriers to volunteering, and
about youth volunteerism in this outcomes of volunteering in
region as this topic remains Jordan. Accompanying this
under-researched (Al Gharaibeh, snapshot, is a set of critical
ENABLING YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM FOR A BETTER FUTURE IN JORDAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7
considerations for the Jordanian embedded within the critical
National Agenda on youth considerations identified through
volunteerism, arising from the the study’s three dimensional
overall multi-dimensional data mixed-methods data collection
analysis undertaken. The critical approach, and presented above.
considerations included: Principally, they include:
Definitions of youth The adoption of the UNDP
volunteerism Systemic Approach to Capacity
Funding for youth volunteerism Development Model through
Top Down or Bottom Up simultaneously executed
Organising of the Sector ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’
Remuneration for Youth approaches creating an enabling
Volunteers environment for youth
Registration of Youth Volunteer volunteerism in Jordan.
Initiatives Engaging the youth in youth
Voluntary or Compulsory Youth volunteerism policy formation
Participation and development, as well as
Employability of the Youth building institutional frameworks.
Volunteers Collating all existing youth
Training the Youth Volunteers volunteerism policies into one
and Those Organising Youth overarching policy framework to
Volunteer Initiatives and deconstruct and then
Programmes reconstruct.
Networking Within the Youth Intensifying the institutional role
Volunteer Sector of the university within the youth
Impact of Youth Volunteerism on volunteerism landscape.
Jordan Establishing a youth volunteerism
national network through the
Given that the purpose of UNV adoption of a social enterprise
regional programme involves an model.
enabling environment for youth
volunteerism, two models for At the validation event held on
engaging youth in policy March 1st, 2015, consensus
formation and development amongst all participants
were presented in this study to supporting these 5
ensure their strategic recommended actions was
involvement in these achieved.
developments. Going forward, a
number of action-oriented Overall, this study contributes to
recommendations requiring strengthening Jordan’s
immediate focus were identified institutional frameworks for youth
in this study. These are volunteerism by:
8
Providing an assessment of the Providing a cross comparison
institutional obstacles that stand between the differing
in front of Jordan’s youth stakeholder institutions involved
volunteers, volunteer initiatives in youth volunteerism in Jordan.
and newly registered youth
volunteer associations and Providing policy related
organisations. recommendations

Analysing the gap between what
the youth volunteer want and
what the Jordanian institutional
framework allows.
ENABLING YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM FOR A BETTER FUTURE IN JORDAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9
1.INTRODUCTION
Whilst evidence from various local, national and global
parts of the world shows that development goals. Similarly,
youth are engaging in volunteerism can bridge the
volunteering at a much higher transition from formal and
rate than adults (Wilson, 2012), informal education to paid
there is significant scope to employment for young people.
enhance the enabling of youth
volunteerism especially in Their participation in a range of
developing economies where volunteering activities can
youth are at a high risk of enhance their life, leadership,
unemployment, disillusionment, citizenship, and work-related
marginalization and radicalization skills and qualifications, and
(Kennelly, 2011; Assaad and hence improving their readiness
Barsoum, 2007). Within this for employment and civic
project, we adopt the United engagement.
Nations agency definition of
youth, as the age cohort between However, we know very little
15-24 (UNDESA). about youth volunteerism in this
region as this topic remains
Focusing specifically on the under-researched (Al Gharaibeh,
challenges of youth in the Arab 2010) and often muddled with
region, volunteering provides a youth development, career
viable and sustainable means to development, employability and /
address the aspirations of youth, or civic engagement. Thus, this
and to turn their grievances and project contributes to bridging
frustrations into positive energy. the hindering gap in research on
this topic, and aims to promote
Studies suggest that civic an enabling environment for
engagement in socio-economic youth volunteerism in Jordan,
development contributes to through the adoption of a
better development results, context-appropriate and highly
improves efficiency and targeting participatory approach that
of basic services, enhances actively engages youth, key
transparency by improving decision-makers and multiple
accountability, and facilitates stakeholders.
collective action.
The overall project was
Youth have dynamism and skills undertaken in three phases. The
that can be harnessed to first phase comprised a research
contribute to the achievement of study involving focus group