Event: Publication

Date, Place: 01. February 2014, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Jordan Office, Amman - Jordan

Organization: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Jordan Office (KAS), Action on Societal Violence - KAFA

Program

Saturday, February 1st 2014

Welcoming Session

Ms. Lina Abu Nuwar Ghazi

Director

Action on Societal Violence - KAFA

Dr. Otmar Oehring

Amman – JordanResident Representative

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Jordan Office

Amman - Jordan

Session 1

Presenting the “Youth Strategy to Combat Societal Violence in Jordan” by Mr. Muthana Arabyat, KAFA Youth Volunteer

Wrap Up and Remarks

Introduction

The presentation of the “Youth Strat-egy to Combat Societal Violence in Jordan” was organized by KAS Jordan Office and Action on Societal Violence KAFA. The youth initiative is the result of a workshop in 2013 developing a strategy to combat societal violence that was organised by KAS and KAFA. The strategy will last for the years 2014 – 2015 and will be implemented by youth groups who aim at decreasing societal violence in Jordan. The initiative constitutes of 45 young men and women from nine governorates of Jor-dan.

Objectives of the Workshop:

As a new program the public and the Jordanian authorities should be informed about the initiative in order to represent the “Youth Strategy to Combat Societal Violence in Jordan”. The overall goal is to raise public awareness in this regard.

The Proceedings of the Workshop

Dr. Otmar Oehring, Resident Representative of KAS Jordan Office, addressed the audience stating that Jordan has recently witnessed a noticeable rise of violence within the Jordanian society for instance, increasing university violence which is, however, a global phe-nomenon and not restricted to specific countries. Yet, societal violence affects citizens, properties and sometimes the security of the nation. Dr. Oehring stressed that continuous societal violence and acts of aggression will lead to the diminishment of the rule of law. To raise public awareness in this regard, seminars and dialogues must be hold to address the major challenges.

Lina Abu Nuwar Ghazi, Director of KAFA, agreed that societal violence has become a worrying phenomenon, at universities as well as in local communities. She stressed that the responsibility for solving this issue must involve all parts of society, particularly the youth. What distinguishes KAFA Youth from others is the approach to engage young men and women from different backgrounds, including students, lawyers, journalists, trainers, and professionals. Most of them have previous experience in volunteer work which will be beneficial in the implementation phase of the strategy and action plan.

The strategy and action plan constitute an organizational framework for the work of KAFA Youth and a management framework for “Action on Societal Violence” in its coordination, support and supervision of the program.

At the end of the session a member of KAFA Youth, Mothanna Al-Arabiat pre-sented the main strategy of the initiative:

•Reform legislation related to societal violence and raise awareness of effects of acts of societal violence, through a working group of lawyers that are members of the initiative

•Outreach to groups affected by violence and groups who practice violence; lobbying against such practices with the help of specialized individuals in the governorates

•Raise the capacity of the KAFA Youth members through training workshops and courses

•Communicate with Jordanian and international institutions and organizations which may provide support to the initiative

The Action Plan

The initiative intends to provide the following activities for 2014

•Publish studies and reports on current laws related to societal violence

•Produce videos on violence and share them on social media channels

•Organize seminars on topics such as dialogue, freedom of expression, non-violence, and mediation as a means to resolve conflicts in communities, schools and universities

Media Reports

Major newspapers such as Al-Rai, Ad-dustour, Alghad and The Jordan Times reported about the event. It was also covered by online news portals such as jo24. The KAFA director was further interviewed by Radio Al-Balad.