Young Jordanians discuss 'next step' in addressing pressing challenges

Source: Jordan Times, AmmanSept.迷你倉新蒲崗 04--IRBID -- Hundreds of young Jordanians marked International Youth day in the Kingdom's northern city of Irbid this week by discussing pertinent issues related to politics, health and energy.During an event organised by USAID on Monday, young Jordanians engaged in conversations with specialists on means to address some of the main challenges facing the Kingdom under the slogan "Success begins with a step. What's your next step?""This is the sixth International Youth Day we celebrate in the country," USAID Mission Director Beth Paige told reporters."Our goal is to accompany young people in their growth while helping them become responsible persons and, consequently aware members of the community," Paige said, adding the event was conducted in partnership with the Higher Youth Council.Nineteen-year old Hadeel told The Jordan Times she was enthusiastic about the day."It is extremely important to develop awareness for changing bad habits into good ones," the student said.Changing behaviour concerning water and energy use in one of the world's 10 driest countries, which also currently imports around 98 per cent of its energy needs constituted a topic of paramount importance during the discussions迷你倉出租"We promote simple actions youths can practise inside and outside their homes to encourage efficiency, energy conservation and avoid water waste," engineer Mobadda Allabadi, one of the experts who spoke to the youths, told The Jordan Times.The relatively low voter turnout in last week's municipal elections (around 37.3 per cent), where only 10.5 per cent of eligible voters in the capital cast their ballots, led experts to address young people's civic sense, highlighting possible steps to enhance the country's democracy.Mahmoud Said, chief programme officer of political parties development at the International Republican Institute, told The Jordan times that his team has organised political party fairs at local universities to bring political topics closer to young people and make them more engaged."Youths in particular skipped the polls because they did not know about the candidates' programmes," he said.Awous Shadat, 21, underlined the political initiative's importance, as young people need spaces to talk about "the real democracy" they wish to see in the country.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Jordan Times (Amman, Jordan) Visit the Jordan Times (Amman, Jordan) at .jordantimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉