First phase of ‘Integrity School’ project to be launched today

AMMAN — Rasheed for Integrity and Transparency (Transparency International – Jordan) will launch the first phase of the “Integrity School” project on Tuesday at Memories Aicha camp in Wadi Rum. 

The project is part of the Rasheed programmes directed at building the capacities of youth, teaching them certain concepts, skill sets and tools related to combating corruption, human rights, democracy, and conflict management and resolution, boosting their role as leaders of change, according to a statement shared with The Jordan Times.

The school will include a set of lectures, training and field events that will provide participants with the chance to implement what they have learned through actual practice in real life situations. 

The “Transparency School” project is also held in Transparency International’s branches in Tunisia, Palestine, Turkey and Lithuania, according to the statement. 

The school will teach the aforementioned skill sets through learning the art of negotiation, focusing also on planning, leadership, and effective lobbying skills that young people need to contribute to resolving society-related issues. 

A session will be designated to the representative of the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC), Mahmoud Ismail, head of the institutional development department, according to the statement.

The session will introduce participants to the role of the commission in supporting the anti-corruption march, highlighting its achievements in the field and the framework of cooperation between the commission and Rasheed.

The Integrity School will see the participation of 18 young men and women between the ages of 20 and 28, who hail from various Jordanian universities and youth groups from different governorates, with the aim of rooting the slogan “Integrity is the basis of success and sustainability”. 

The second phase of the school will be held next month, and the programme is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, through the Zivik funding programme of the Institut Für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA), a German organisation for international cultural relations.

The JIACC believes there is critical importance in working to spread the concepts of national integrity and the foundations of the national integrity charter, focusing on all segments of society, including officials and civilians, according to the statement. 

The commission is working on three basic subjects, notably consolidating the national integrity system, as well as its principle and the standards of good governance, protection against corruption in all its forms, and enforcing the law to prevent the corrupt from escaping punishment. 

The JIACC will soon launch an updated national strategy for integrity and combating corruption for the years 2020-2025, the statement noted.

Executive Director of Rasheed Abeer Madanat told The Jordan Times on Monday that “it is important to involve young people in the anti-corruption efforts and social accountability matters”, noting that youth constitute the largest segment of the Jordanian society. 

“The project embodies a significant step to spread the culture of integrity, transparency and accountability, boosting critical thinking, innovation and leadership among participants, who in turn can lead social initiatives and lobbying campaigns,” Madanat said.

Rasheed was established at the end of 2013, as a non-for-profit civil society organisation, through a group of activists working in the field of anti-corruption. Rasheed commenced work in Amman at the beginning of April 2014, and it represents “the only official contact group of Transparency International in Jordan”, according to the website.