King's Parliament speech raises spirits of Jordan youth

AMMAN — The youth of the Kingdom have voiced their appreciation and gratitude for His Majesty King Abdullah’s “continuous support and confidence” in them, following his mention of them in his Parliament speech yesterday. 

During the Speech from the Throne given in Parliament yesterday, His Majesty said: “The most difficult reforms are behind us, and the promising future lies ahead. We are marching confidently towards that future to realise the aspirations of the people of this nation.”

“[The King’s] future-directed speech, along with his description of youth as ‘qualified’, has prompted us to work hard to live up to that standard,” said 21-year-old Mostafa Maani on Twitter.

“It is so easy to lose hope these days with the current financial situation and the negative vibes all around us, but hearing His Majesty saying he has faith in us has certainly raised my spirit,” said Loai Sababha in another tweet.

Firas Shawabkeh, manager of youth programmes at the Ministry of Youth, told The Jordan Times that “the positive energy and support that the King directs towards youth is driving them to push their limits”.

“In all our programmes, you can feel the participants wanting to become the best version of themselves,” he added.

Abdulraheem Zawahreh, director of the All Jordan Youth Commission, told The Jordan Times: “His Majesty stresses the important role of young people in all his Parliament and international forum speeches, highlighting how they are essential to building society.”

The royal speech, according to Zawahreh, “informs everyone, including the different state institutions as well as the private sector, of their responsibilities towards the youth ".

 “His Majesty is building a new reality that fosters growth and creates thousands of opportunities for all Jordanians, and that means not putting a ceiling on top of the aspirations of the youth, who have the distinctive freshness of energy and thought,” he added.

Amani Majali, former spokesperson for the Ministry of Youth, told The Jordan Times that His Majesty’s words about not succumbing to darkness or pessimism can be rendered as “an order for all state institutions to develop appropriate plans and programmes to help youth reach their ambitions”.