PSI launches first Jordanian incubator for ideas incubator

In collaboration with the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, the Politics and Society Institute and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy launched the first Jordanian incubator for ideas and dialogue in Karak in southern Jordan, to enhance political and civic participation in local communities and boost trust in official institutions.

This is Jordan’s first incubator of its kind, located in Karak Governorate. It is centered on creating a common platform for dialogue and idea exchange at multiple levels, between the youth themselves on one hand, and between engaged youth and officials in official institutions on the other. According to PSI Executive Director Rasha Fityan, the Institute is taking serious steps to secure direct societal channels of communication between youth and local decision-makers, which leads to achieving democratic values and stimulating political participation through innovation.

Fityan noted that the concept sprang from young people’s desire to open up a horizon inside the civil space for two-way communication, giving a unique and constructive product for political participation, which has faced a number of challenges in recent years. She said that the incubator is the first square in the institute’s strategic plan to move toward “creative political engagement”; which guarantees a space for defending human rights, civil liberties, active engagement, and change-making.

In turn, Dr. Ali Al-Khawaldeh, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, stated that the quest to open safe and effective channels with youth to share aspirations and ambitions in the political reform process is an important axis in the Ministry’s approach in conjunction with national efforts to modernize the political system, which is guided by royal directives and ensures meaningful transformations in the following stage.

According to Rami Al-Adwan, resident representative at the Netherlands Institute, the two institutes in collaboration with the ministry hope to start more incubators throughout the Kingdom, reaching the greatest number of young people and opening the horizons for communication with various groups of Jordanian society, in order to achieve a state of pluralism of ideas and dialogue, which will be reflected in the overall climate of mutual trust between the youth and the authorities.