Irbid, Dec 16 (Petra) - The We Rise Center for Sustainable Development, in partnership with the British Council and the Ministry of Youth, organized an event titled "Collective Decision-Making" as part of the "Youth Connectivity" project, aimed at selecting and voting on priority community issues that reflect the needs of the local community.
Head of the Greater Irbid Municipality Committee, Imad Azzam, who patronized the event on Tuesday, said that the Youth Connectivity project represents an advanced model in empowering youth and engaging them in a systematic manner in setting priorities, analyzing local issues, and formulating actionable proposals. He noted that the collective decision-making event was held to select the top five priority issues through participatory voting, focusing on the most urgent and impactful challenges, and strengthening the role of youth as active partners in the local governance system.
He explained that the meeting embodied an advanced state of participatory work and shared responsibility, reflecting the pivotal role of official institutions, civil society organizations, and youth in supporting local development pathways and building sustainable institutional cooperation models.
Azzam added that the event aligns with the pillars of the Ministry of Local Administration’s strategy, which focuses on enhancing local governance, expanding community participation, and empowering youth to contribute effectively to local decision-making.
For his part, Director General of the We Rise Center, Amer Abu Dalu, said that the Youth Connectivity program is based on a firm belief in the importance of empowering young men and women and expanding their participation in local decision-making by building their capacities to analyze community issues and engage directly with stakeholders and decision-makers.
He explained that the project’s work is consistent with the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II in empowering youth and enhancing their participation in civic and political life and intersects with the comprehensive modernization framework across its three tracks: political, economic, and administrative modernization. He added that it also aligns with the National Youth Strategy for 2023–2026, the second National Strategy for Media and Information Literacy, and the Youth, Peace and Security agenda.
Abu Dalu noted that the collective decision-making event represents a pivotal phase of the program and comes as the culmination of a training pathway in which youth participated. It provided an interactive space that brought them together with stakeholders and decision-makers in direct and participatory dialogue, embodying a practical model for applying the collective decision-making approach in local development work.
He reviewed a number of community issues addressed by youth within the program, reflecting priorities derived from local community needs. These included the lack of safe and community spaces, weak youth involvement in identifying development needs, insufficient skills among youth to enter the labor market, youth disengagement from participation in elected councils, declining connection to national identity and culture, absence of performance measurement and governance tools in municipalities, rising hate speech in the digital space, and limited opportunities for networking between youth and the labor market.
He added that youth had worked during the past period on designing these issues based on existing challenges and the results of field studies before being involved in a transparent and participatory voting process to select five priority issues out of eight, which will be supported and funded in preparation for transforming them into implementable community projects.
Abu Dalu explained that the five winning issues will address priority challenges, affirming that the center will provide the necessary support through technical assistance, follow-up, and capacity building, contributing to transforming ideas into practical interventions and enhancing their community impact.
He confirmed that the program is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and in cooperation with relevant official entities, noting that the partnership with the British Council constitutes a key lever for the program’s success through the quality support it provides in promoting participation and building sustainable institutional cooperation models.
The event was attended by representatives of ministries, departments and official institutions; chambers of industry and commerce; representatives of the private sector, political parties, and media outlets; as well as representatives of civil society organizations, youth bodies, and youth activists from the Irbid governorate.
//Petra// AF
