Anna Lindh Foundation- Jordanian Network

Within the purview of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS), the Anna Lindh Foundation – Jordanian Network, designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2010 as the institution responsible for the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation, engages its members (currently over 100) in organizing activities, with guidance from the Steering Committee, that align with the Foundation’s strategy. The aim is to promote acceptance of pluralism and cultural diversity, mutual respect among societies, religions, and beliefs, and the recognition of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Jordanian Network is considered by the Foundation to be the most active network in the southern Mediterranean. The network organizes activities with leading figures from Jordanian civil society organizations, primarily youth organizations, ensuring that the work carried out at the local level has an impact across the Euro-Mediterranean region.

RIIFS was also runner-up in the first edition of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s Euro-Med Dialogue Prize, launched in 2006 on the theme of interreligious dialogue and voted on by civil society networks in more than 30 countries.

Activities

In early 2007, the FAL, in collaboration with the Jordanian Network, organized a national training seminar for NGOs and civil society groups in Amman. This seminar included training on networks and new communication tools, the development of transnational project proposals for media and educational and cultural sectors, methods for sharing best practices in multicultural dialogue, and a simulation of project evaluation and monitoring. Also in 2007, the FAL organized a seminar in Amman on “linguistic awareness of cultures” and a teacher training workshop entitled “How to use new teaching materials on religious diversity in the classroom.”

Between 2006 and 2011, Jordanian civil society not only collaborated but actively participated in the development and management of transnational intercultural dialogue projects, establishing partnerships with entities in more than 30 countries across the Euro-Mediterranean region. These projects focused on education, youth, artistic creation, and academic cooperation. In May 2011, the Jordanian Network organized its first joint action festival, Alwan Baladna, in collaboration with Network members and under the patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal. That same month, the FAL (Army of the Americas) organized the first Euro-Mediterranean High-Level Meeting of Dead Sea Television Leaders in Jordan. Furthermore, the Anna Lindh National Network organizes an annual program of diverse activities on “Active Citizenship,” implemented by government programs in various Jordanian regions (north, central, and south), reaching young people, women, and refugees.

Within the framework of Dawrak-Citizens for Dialogue, 2012 saw a network strengthening meeting with the participation of Syrian representatives and the holding of a mini-convention at the Dead Sea. Additionally, the Arab Young Voices program organized a trainer training course in cooperation with the Jordanian network. In 2013, Rabeea Najm Al-Din Al-Naser, founder and Jordanian director of the House of Tales and Music (HTM), was chosen by members of the Anna Lindh National Networks as the winner of the Euro-Med Dialogue Prize, that year dedicated to the theme “Migrants as Ambassadors for Mutual Understanding.”

Since 2011, the Network has been a pioneer of the Active Citizenship Program with activities in Amman, Ajloun, Jerash, and in the Zaatrai and Mafraq refugee camps.

Within the framework of the Network’s Intercultural Activity (AIR), the Network held a series of training seminars in 2016 on media and music for a peaceful and inclusive society. These seminars were organized in cooperation with several partner organizations, namely the Arab Women’s Media Center, the “Sisterhood is Global” Institute, the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development Tajalla, and the Youth for Youth Association. The program’s content was structured around four fundamental pillars of intercultural dialogue: media, activism (gender inclusion), art, and interfaith dialogue. Needs assessment meetings were held in Mafraq, Madaba, and Karak, where young participants contributed to shaping the content of the main training program.

More recently, the important role of the media in promoting intercultural dialogue, especially in the face of extremism, has been underscored by the three journalists who won the 9th Anna Lindh Foundation Mediterranean Journalism Prize. The 2016 awards ceremony, held in Amman, Jordan, was organized in cooperation with the Jordan Media Institute (JMI).