(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency)
Amman, Jan. 27 (Petra) - The Canadian Embassy through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) together with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jordan, honored UNRWA school students who participated in the "I am a Young Female Leader" program Sunday at the Irbid Camp Middle School.
The award ceremony was attended by Canada's Ambassador to Jordan, Peter MacDougall, as well as senior community members.
This female leadership initiative, funded by CFLI and implemented by the Try Centre for Training and Education (Try Center), aims to empower young girls by promoting them to positions of leadership in addition to increasing public awareness among parents and teachers on how to protect girls from discrimination and violence.
Furthermore, the program seeks to build leadership capacity among young girls. The initiative was implemented in six UNRWA schools in Jordan, including in Irbid, between November and December of last year.
In cooperation with the Try Centre, some 25 UNRWA teachers and students from the six schools participated in trainings on female leadership in health, hygiene, environment, and gender-based violence. Female students completed fifty creative projects, including short story writing, songs, art and sketch performances.
In his speech to participants, MacDougall said: "Canada sees gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as key Canadian values, and believes that these values are critical to the achievement of poverty reduction, peace and security, and inclusive, sustainable economic growth."
The Director of UNRWA Operations in Jordan, Roger Davies, expressed his gratitude to the Canadian Embassy for its continued support of UNRWA and affirmed the value of extra-curricular activities that broaden students' skills and empower them.
"UNRWA believes that education is not just about passing exams," he stated "but also acquiring skills that the young students need to understand the world they live in and promote values like tolerance and gender equality."
"I am pleased to celebrate the achievements of our confident female Palestinian refugee youth and am incredibly proud to see the innovative projects competing today that will contribute positively to the development of their society," Davies added.
The Agency provides educational services to more than 526,000 Palestinian refugee youth across the Middle East, including more than 122,194 students in Jordan. UNRWA is proud to support female empowerment by employing 49.7 percent female educators.
The Government of Canada has been a longtime supporter of UNRWA. In 2017 their total contribution to the Agency stood at $19.7 million.
In light of the unprecedented financial shortfall faced by UNRWA last year, Canada generously increased its planned contribution by $10 million.
AJ
27/01/2019 18:24:34
MENAFN2701201901170000ID1098030899
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.