Cover Image: Al Amirah Rahmah, Az-Zarqa, Jordan by Adeeb Atwan
License: CC BY 3.0
From 17 to 19 September, the training programme “Shape the Political Narrative – From Ideas to Actions” aimed at strengthening youth capacity in Zarqa governorate to engage in public affairs through informed analysis and practical policy proposals. Aligned with the National Youth Strategy’s objectives on active citizenship, public participation, and engagement in decision-making processes, the program focused on enhancing youth understanding of governance structures and equipping them with the skills needed to formulate specific, evidence-based recommendations and directing them to the institutions responsible for addressing them.
Following the training, a series of follow-up sessions supported participants in transforming their presentations into structured written policy contributions. As a result, 17 youth contributions were submitted and reviewed for inclusion in the policy paper on local issues and youth priorities in Zarqa Governorate. Each contribution was assessed based on the clarity of the problem definition, the strength of the supporting argument, the available evidence, the identification of institutional responsibility, and the feasibility of the proposed response.
The resulting policy paper “Local Issues and Youth Priorities in the Zarqa Governorate” highlights a wide range of issues affecting young people across the governorate, including youth facilities and programmers, libraries and learning resources, public spaces, skills development and employment opportunities, as well as access to youth services in different localities. While several contributions addressed similar themes, proposals were presented separately whenever their geographical focus, target beneficiaries, or proposed interventions differed, ensuring that local needs and priorities were accurately reflected.
The paper is available in Arabic only.
