(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — A youth-led-initiative aligned with the Royal vision on youth's political participation that seeks to involve young people in the decision-making process drew mixed reactions on its ability to achieve its goals.
The Jordanian Youth Government (JYG) was launched in August 2017 with the aim of enabling young people to take part in the decision making process at the national level through the creation of a council of ministries providing programmes, projects and initiatives for officials, Ahmad Abu Sheikha, the initiative's founder, told The Jordan Times.
The JYG also seeks to evaluate governmental projects and policies while providing officials with feedback from the youth's perspective, Abu Sheikha added.
A team of university students and fresh graduates began developing the idea in 2012, launching it later under the umbrella of their NGO, the Youth Leadership Foundation, which they registered in 2015 under the Ministry of Political Affairs.
Under its strategic plan, JYG developed six stages to be spread between 2017 and 2028. Following the preparation and gaining public support phase, to last between August 2017 and Oct 2018, the first phase of the youth ministerial council is expected to last between November 2018 and 2020.
In 2021 and 2022, the second phase of the youth ministerial council and the youth parliament council will take place, after which the parliamentary youth government will be established in 2023-2024.
Abu Sheikha said that the parallel government will focus on five main sectors: the political, economic, youth and education, administration and public services fields.
'We are now at the preparation stage and touring the governorates to introduce our national plan, to gain support and expand our teams," he said, noting that the founders conducted visits to Irbid, Madaba, Salt, Maan, Karak and Tafileh.
Young people between 20 and 35 years old are encouraged to apply for the ministerial posts on the website http://shababgovjo.org, where they are also invited to evaluate the current performance of the ministry they wish to fill as well as their vision for the future, the 24-year-old activist said.
Qualified candidates will go through personal interviews and selections will be made on the basis of, merit.
On the occasion of his birthday, His Majesty King Abdullah met with youth representatives at the University of Jordan, where he expressed his confidence in young people being the "leaders for change" in Jordan.
'The King's conversation included messages of support and motivation that gave us the power to work with our full strength,' Abu Sheekha stated.
However, many expressed doubts over the plausibility of the project, citing primarily the lack of support for the initiative.
For Mohammad Zawahrah, a young activist and founder of the Shaghaf alliance, which aims to monitor and hold elected members of Parliament accountable for their electoral programmes and promises, one of the main challenges facing youth initiatives is "the lack of recognition from the government".
'Due to the general political status in Jordan, I think the JYG's chances to succeed are little. People have no trust in the government or the Parliament, so they won't accept any initiative that might be seen as a shadow to them. Besides, the government is not open to partner with youth initiatives,' Zawahrah said.
The young man, who has over 10 years of experience in activism, said youth must develop political bodies such as alliances and parties to be able to push for change.
He nonetheless considered His Majesty's message as "vital" and "encouraging" to young people, who are passionate but face financial and logistic challenges.
Maan Shamayleh, an expert in youth political participation, said the JYG is certainly a pioneering idea, but the absence of clear support from the government is one of many challenges they will face.
'Sometimes, support is obtained by personal connections [Wasta]. There must be a measurable tool to support all youth initiatives, to give space to all equally,' Shamayleh stressed.
According to Shamayleh, the name "parallel government" might increase suspicion from both the people and the government. 'The project is national and it needs to be simplified to facilitate acceptance by the public and authorities," he said, suggesting rebranding of the initiative.
Walid Abu Dalbouh, Director of Politics and International Relations at UJ, expressed his admiration of the JYG's determination despite the financial and logistic struggles they face.
'The challenge is for them to get their idea accepted. The government is [usually] exaggerating with its fears because such initiatives and has no trust in the youth,' he claimed, adding that 'the King's visit and dialogue with the youth was excellent because it lit the flame. It is time to give youth the chance to share their vision'.
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