According to Article 44 of the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, nobody must be deprived from their right to run and vote in parliamentary, municipal, trade union or general elections due to disability. Building upon these legal foundations, KAS Jordan, in collaboration with its new partner HCD, is hosting a series of three two-day political workshops for persons with disabilities. It aims to both listen to the youth voices and concerns as well as increase their awareness of and engagement in politics, especially considering the upcoming parliamentary elections.
In line with the vision of his Majesty King Abdullah II of political modernization, Jordan seeks to activate more and more youth, including those with disabilities, to engage with decision-making processes. Therefore, the Youth Academy sessions educate its participants about the potential impact they have when participating effectively. To do so, in the workshops the youth with disabilities is learning practical skills of engaging politically, building advocacy campaigns and lobbying, equipping them with important participatory skills for their future lives.
The first out of three planned workshops took place in Amman on the 14th and 15th of July 2024. Firstly, the participants were welcomed to the program by both KAS resident representative Dr. Edmund Ratka and HEC Deputy Secretary General Ghadeer Al Hares and their expectations on the upcoming training sessions were clarified. Many of the participants mentioned their existing interest in and will to get more involved politically, yet their lack of knowledge of how to do so. This gap clearly underlines the necessity for the planned series of political training sessions. Afterwards, the experienced trainer Zayed Omar, who works for the HCD as a researcher in the Political Participation Affairs, kicked off the first day by explaining the human rights approach to communicating with persons with disabilities. Through interactive political exercises, such as sketches with the participants and oral presentations, they learned about mechanisms and tools for developing cooperation between persons with disabilities and stakeholders in practice.
The second day of the first workshop was joined by the trainer and founder of the NGO “Wasel for Awareness and Education” Lynn Malkawi, who taught the participants about civic participation and democracy. “What does active citizenship mean in practice?”, “Which institutions are effective in achieving democracy?” and “What are the levels of national governance?”. These and similar questions were tackled in an interactive dialogue between the participants and the trainer. Lastly, the participants got introduced to tools for civic engagement, such as media, elections and teamwork. At the same time, challenges and concerns within civic engagement were raised, such as instances of violence against people with disabilities in politics.
The upcoming two workshops will continue to provide an inclusive platform for young Jordanians with disabilities to learn about and engage with political, legal and civic culture. Empowering the voices of people with disabilities and ensuring their active engagement and inclusion is essential for a truly representative and dynamic political process. Thereby, this workshop series is part of KAS Jordan’s broader efforts to contribute to a diverse, sustainable and inclusive political landscape in Jordan, which efficiently adds to the Hashemite’s Kingdom’s goal of political modernization. For reaching this objective, the participation of all is important!