When I was applying for the Inspirator Program, I was very unsure of what my specific job would be. Then I read this “Inspirators are a boost to local partner organizations to help them focus, re-think or just being better at implementing specific activities through shared learning and critical reflection. It is thus essential that the Inspirator can provide and outside perspective and present new ideas.” Sound interesting and impossible at the same time. How can I provide insight to an already functioning organization? But still I applied, and then when I was approached by the MENA regional office to join them in helping build the Activista Arabia Network. I lost it! Both with joy and fear. But as they say every difficulty is an opportunity in disguise. But only if I knew, how big of an opportunity, it was? For working with real Activists from the Arab region, who have showed real activism to bring a positive social change.
Hence, I joined the regional office here in Amman, Jordan. I knew how I felt, but I was very uncertain on what kind of response will Activista network receives here, from the society, from the locals and even from the government. When I got here, everything was starting to ease out. December for sure became a good month to meet Activists around Jordan. I had the privilege to meet up with young Activists from Amman, Irbid and Zarqa. There is something about them, something exactly I cannot pin out yet, but they are very special. They are engaged, with so much positivity and they are creatively excelled in their own community with social development projects. Activista seeks to harness this resource and fulfill young people’s right to participate in their own development. The youth in Jordan will make my job very much simple with their dedication and inventiveness.
As such the youth in Zarqa are focused and dedicated to make a change within the neighborhood by working towards bridging the gap between the local government and the youth. They have taken initiatives of cleaning up Local Park to create a healthy environment for the children to play in. And they do sessions with students from schools in Zarqa who are between the ages of 13-16 years to spread awareness on Environmental protection. They want to partner with local community, to pull in people from the community to working with reproductive health, Life skills and capacity building, gender equality and self appreciation.
When I visited the Jordanian University of Science and Technology in Irbid, I was amazed with the amount of commitment the youth had towards their community despite being so privileged. They initiated a project named ‘Romantic Solutions’ where they work with networking and advocacy between each other and people from different walks of life. They spread awareness about their initiatives by singing in a bus station of the campus and bring smiles to the faces of the people, they have a book exchange gallery in the university called ‘noon’ where they exchange books to enhance knowledge among the youth who are reluctant to read books. They also have radio Ardi – online radio where they play music to increase the admiration among the society. And they have initiated cleaning projects which help them keep the atmosphere in the campus sparkling. I did join them as an Inspirator but instead they have inspired me with their Individual Activism which resides within them.
When we truly believe in what we do, we can push power structures beyond our imagination. Both internal and external –
Soren Warburg, Activista International Coordinator
I certainly am a dummy when it comes to speaking Arabic language but for sure I do understand the passion of an Activist. They are determined to make a change regardless of any incentive, they have next to no interest in their personal benefit and most importantly they are the leaders of today not tomorrow. So now I am going to scratch every fear I had before getting here, and look for creating a strong network of Activista with all the remarkable Activists from countries such as Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt.
