USAID YouthPower

A subcontractor of USAID YouthPower Jordan, PfG worked with 185 youth in 12 governorates to develop 12 policy papers on key challenges facing young adults in these regions. PfG provided these youth (100 females; 85 males) with in-person and online training programs on writing effective policy papers and managed and was responsible for the Internship Program.

The participants produced policy papers on four main thematic issues: Public transportation in Amman, Ma’an and Balqa; tourism in Tafileh, Aqaba, Madaba, Jarash, and Ajloun; random street vendor stalls in Zarqa; and vocational training in Mafaq, Irbid, and Karak. In order to establish and sustain the process of policy paper development, PfG drafted a “Youth in Policy Making Manual”, which sets out internationally recognized practices and steps of youth engagement and participation in decision making. The manual also captures lessons learned during PfG efforts within the Jordanian context.

Furthermore, Youth in Policy Making Manual” is a legacy tool that demonstrates the roadmap of engaging the youth in the Jordanian policy-making cycle. Starting from selecting the youth interested in the public good to participate in the policy papers writing training, the cycle goes to lobbying and advocacy and ends with including the policies in the agenda of the policymakers for endorsement.

During the lifetime of the activity the program managed and was responsible for the Internship Program. During the five cohorts of the internship, the program successfully graduated more than 90 interns from all the Jordanian governorates. The program was able to do that in collaboration with more than 30 entities including governmental entities, CBOs, NGOs and private sector corporations to host the programs’ interns.