The Jordan School of Politics: Meet the graduates
28-02-2023

A new set of ambitious and politically motivated young people has completed NIMD’s Jordan School of Politics. We spoke to three of the graduates to learn more about their experience.

The Jordan School of Politics is a year-long programme, which aims to develop the skills of young participants from across the political spectrum. These participants are selected from Jordan’s different governorates on a competitive basis.

NIMD offers the participants a chance to build knowledge and skills that will help them to enhance their political participation. It’s about sharing knowledge between aspiring young politicians in the country and helping them to learn from each other’s experiences.

“I acquired new skills and political information during the training and enhanced my knowledge in all the topics raised. It illuminated new interests to build my skills. On the personal level, I built an acquaintance with a selection of young men and women from other governorates and was able to enhance communication between us during the activities provided and breaks.” Noor

The curriculum

This year’s participants received training in areas including the constitution, legislation, economics and advocacy skills. As well as working on their knowledge and skills, the participants have the chance to build a cross-party network of aspiring politicians. Their interactions during the long-term and interactive courses are a basis for trust and respect as they embark on their political careers.

“It was one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve had. I learned a lot from expert courses and instructors. The dialogue sessions that followed each session allowed us to ask questions to many important political figures. However, the most beautiful thing about this experience is the opportunity to interact with my peers from all over the political spectrum. I made genuine friendships with my colleagues and learned an introductory lesson: that differences of opinion do not spoil friendship!” Nofan

What’s more, the participants also had the chance to engage with local and regional politicians through inter-generational dialogue sessions. These sessions provided an opportunity for the young people to share their perspectives, and deepen their knowledge of politics, public work and party work.

As a requirement of the programme, the participants worked on preparing four policy papers on topics related to:

  • strengthening the presence of parties on social media platforms
  • strengthening the role of women in leadership positions within parties
  • amending the system regulating the practice of partisan activities in higher education institutions
  • expanding freedoms in universities and activating parliaments to enhance democratic awareness among students.

The graduation

The graduates were able to present their policy papers to a number of politicians, experts and guests at a high-level graduation ceremony, organized by NIMD and in the presence of the Jordanian Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs (MoPPA).

“The experience was unique and distinctive regarding training, trainers, participants, and NIMD’s team. The experience included many training and dialogue sessions, adding value to us in multiple ways. It was also valuable to write and create a policy paper with our chosen topics and issues.” Rawan Al-Muaqaba

This cohort is the fourth to have graduated from the Jordan School of Politics. NIMD hopes that this project will support efforts in Jordan to enhance political participation among young people, and empower young women and men with the necessary skills, knowledge and networks to enter politics