Communication, Advocacy and Leadership

Our Media Fellowship Program (MFP) provided fifteen talented young professionals with the opportunity to receive cutting-edge multimedia training and learn from leading Jordanian and international media experts. Media Fellows received comprehensive media, culture, and business training and worked as interns at renowned Jordanian news organizations.

Our MFP Media Fellows serve as Young Media Ambassadors and empower other young people in their communities to express their voice and catalyze positive change. They work on media projects to raise awareness about youth unemployment and the importance of youth participation initiatives.

 Project: Women As Partners in ProgressPolicy reform towards mind-set change:Objectives:

• Pressured the Ministry of Labor to amend article 69 by removing all restrictions to jobs for women and all timing restrictions.
• Restrictions were removed in December 2018.
• Raised awareness among ministry of labor and general public on the flaws of article 29 (harassment in the workplace).
• Pressured the ministry of labor to include a anti-harassment statement in article 55 (internal by-laws of companies).

Activities:
address the regulatory, and institutional discrimination by committing to gender equity as a workplace value in policies, regulations

Under the Women As Partners in Progress, WoL carried out an advocacy campaign strategy policy reform.
The WPP coalition currently has about 50 women who are established in their field and are leaders or emerging leaders in Jordan. The campaign aimed at first and foremost, promote a safe environment for females at work, free of harassment and violence by lobbying to change policies that affect women in the workplace. Our main focus will be Article 29, 69 and 55. In addition, the campaign attempted to reach the general public to tackle mindset change towards women in the workplace.
 

We first developed the guidelines towards creating a campaign strategy. To begin planning this campaign, we started by collecting knowledge through our many partners who provided us with materials such as a policy analysis in labour and criminal law as well a legal review of the Jordanian National Legislation which was developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, and the Jordan National Committee for Women. The policy review was conducted by an independent law firm (Laswi and Zaloum) with the participation of Tadamun. We used this review as a benchmark for other policy papers.
 

Then, we began our stakeholder analysis where we completed the analysis with the following preliminary stakeholder groups:

• Government ( MoL , Minister, Secretary General , Legal department, women directorate)
• Legislators
• Pressure groups (ILO NCPE and better work Jordan; He for She UNwomen, kvvina till kivvina)
• Media (Reporters and channels)
• Social Media (Influencers)
• Employers (including chamber of commerce and chamber of industry)
• General Public (working women, men, victims of harassment in the workplace)

This will be followed by the development of a position paper which included the proposed amendments to article 29 and article 69. A summary of the information collected with regards to harassment in the workplace in Jordan. The definition of harassment in the workplace and legal as well as religious evaluation.
The messaging of the campaign is currently being implemented.

Objectives:
Women As Partners in Progress
Developed a coalition of 60 women (and men) leaders and emerging leaders to tackle mind-set change in communities towards greater female employment.

Activities:
Mind-set change component of WPP:

• Conduct information sessions in the communities of Shuneh, Madaba and Irbid. The sessions includes gender awareness based on religious messaging and labor laws and regulations. Conducting the sessions are Mufti from the Ifta directorate, Ministry of Labor representative and JNCW reprentative.
• Conduct Interactive Play at universities to target youth and instigate a discussion. The Play is conducted by the Performing Arts Center and creates a delima in which roles of males and females are reversed.
• Social media campaign which include tweet-up and meet up sessions, flash-mob in malls, and TV spots.

Running a holiday sale or weekly special? Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.

World of Letters
Makarim Project- Hyperlocal Heros project
Objective :
dentified 12 female heroes from the 12 communities and currently are being featured on social media.
Activities:

The identification and celebration of hyperlocal heroes helps gives marginalized communities a sense of self-worth, as well as providing realistic role models.
The project is designed on a believe that heroes/leaders emerge organically from within local communities, even if they ultimately tie into national or international campaigns. This is because citizens feel empowered and responsible when solutions appear to come from within, and are tailored for, the local community. By contrast, the imposition of solutions from the ‘outside’ can generate cynicism at best, or exacerbate feelings of marginalization and interference at worst.
The project embraces hyperlocal heroes from a range of backgrounds, placed into four categories for the sake of simplicity:

• Social: Individuals who have contributed to the cohesion of the local community and/or the spread of moderate/tolerant values, and/or who have established themselves
• Economics: individuals who have helped improve the local economy and/or contributed to better employment opportunities. Included in this category are role models who have succeeded in achieving realistic socio-economic success (as the community would define it) through their hard work – for example the young person who has succeeded in becoming a popular fitness instructor.
• Politics: individuals who have advocated, represented and/or lobbied for the rights of the local community.
• Security: Individuals who have taken ‘extraordinary’ measures to improve the safety and security of the local community.

Vulnerable groups: Particular emphasis was placed on those local heroes who have helped vulnerable and/or marginalized groups (women, children, minorities, the poor, the ill etc.).
In this project, 1200 questionnaires were conducted in 12 communities located in the governorates of Irbid, Balqa and Zerqa.
Both females and male heroes are being selected and celebrated as role models for women and girls.
The belief mediation theory states that “women’s emancipative beliefs translate easier into public action when an overall emancipative climate encourages such action.” Which means having true role models or heros that girls and women can look up to.

World of Letters: Woman As Partners in Progress Project (WPP)

Objectives:

Trained 50 women leaders and emerging leaders on a Leadership Program developed by the University of Maryland and delivered by world-renowned gender activist May Rihani.

Activities:
The Women As Partners in Progress in an innovative, regional project funded by MEPI/USA and implemented in Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait.  World of Letters is the implementing partner in Jordan. The goal of the Women as Partners in Progress (WPP) project is to promote women's leadership and gender inclusive policies in Jordan.
 

WPP is unique in its starting point: as it begins with a gender analysis that synthesizes research on women in the Arab World and specifically in Jordan. A Knowledge Seminar is held with 30 selected established and emerging women leaders who use this research to identify priority issues in their country that they wish to work on together. The second unique feature is that WPP is the support these women in their choice of the two or three issues they want to work on together. They develop a strategy and action plan for this collaborative work. To further support their work, WPP designs and facilitates a Leadership Training workshop in strategic decision-making and results-oriented alliances. As progress unfolds, WPP and local partners work with the women to design and carry out social mobilization campaigns. A campaign may include TV and radio interviews; posting on forums, blogs, Facebook; talks at conferences and universities; meetings with government ministers, business leaders, NGOs and other influential people; and developing and placing social marketing messages to address mindset-change as well as policy.
www.wpp.worldofletters.net
https://gibranchair.umd.edu/landingtopic/about-women-partners-progress