Jordan’s Ministry of Youth shares national youth strategy with global experts 

By Ashley Williams

Youth, policymakers, funders and organizations came together at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Summit (GYEO) 2030 to address the historic challenges faced by young people. The Summit, organized by Making Cents International, hosted conversations on how participants can support sustainable economic growth and employment for all by 2030. 

Sahar Mansour Abu Hamour, from Jordan’s Ministry of Youth, presented on how the Ministry and USAID’s Technical Assistance Program (TAP) are working together to transform the country’s national youth strategy into an effective implementation plan that leverages youth participation. 

Jordan is a youthful country, with 36 percent of its population aged 12 to 30. The strategy relies on youth potential, how youth can innovate and what they can achieve should the surrounding legislative, political, institutional and societal environment exist. The strategy has also taken into account the considerable attention that Jordan is paying to human rights, especially the civil and political rights of youth, women and people with disabilities. 

TAP is working with the Ministries of Youth and Education to implement their national strategies by updating their decision support systems, improving their institutional development and strengthening their monitoring and evaluation performance through the newly established M&E Unit, while also enhancing the ministry’s organizational culture. TAP supports the Ministry of Youth by strengthening youth centers’ activities, supporting effective youth strategy implementation and improving youth center performance through a long-term capacity building program and an improved monitoring system.

The Youth Economic Opportunities 2030 Summit provided an opportunity for youth experts around the world to share how they are approaching youth issues, particularly as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Attendees at Abu Hamour’s session came from Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Palestine and beyond. At the end of the session, Abu Hamour crowd sourced ideas by inviting attendees to get into groups and brainstorm ways Jordan’s Ministry of Youth can continue to improve its work. Ideas included creating an alumni network so that youth who are involved with the Ministry’s efforts can come back later in life to mentor the next generation, sensitizing adults to think about youth as partners, and creating youth advisory roles in other ministries so their voices can be heard. 

Abu Hamour expressed her appreciation of the attendees’ active participation and said, “The ideas shared by different countries are valid and important options for the Ministry to consider in the development of the new 2026-2030 strategy.”     

TAP’s Deputy Chief of Party Rana Kawar and Creative’s Senior Project Director Linda Wafi presented with Abu Hamour at the Summit about how TAP is supporting the Ministry to efficiently collaborate with other stakeholders. 

“Jordan has a huge capacity and clear strategy, but like any of us they are trying to tackle ambitious plans while still recovering from COVID,” said Wafi. “Creative is playing that convening role to bring together different players. We don’t want the ministries to operate in silos.”