When government policies fall by the wayside, INJAZ al-Arab is more than happy to pick up the reins. Set up in 1999 as a Save the Children pilot programme, it sought to provide public school students across Jordan with the necessary skills to thrive upon graduation. It proved to be so successful that, within two years, it was brought under the umbrella of Junior Achievement – a worldwide network that helps students become part of the global economy. A team of educators and private sector volunteers (currently including 160 board members) give students hands-on business experience through a series of compelling Arabised lectures, competitions and training.
Presided over by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and sponsored by USAID, INJAZ has gone from being Jordan centred to encompassing Palestine, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco. Despite the diversity of curricula in the region, INJAZ, with help from various Ministries of Education, has managed to make each programme and lecture relevant to its participants while giving it a regional perspective and aim.
But probably its biggest success so far has been the sheer number of students it has attracted. Still far from its stated one million mark by 2015, INJAZ has, nevertheless, made impressive inroads going from creating opportunities for 613 students in 1999 to 83, 226 in the last academic year. With 70 per cent of the region’s population currently under the age of 25 and with the burden of employment squarely on government shoulders, INJAZ offers its participants a pathway into entrepreneurship, a word that ironically is not yet part of the Arabic lexicon.
Organisation INJAZ al-Arab
Establishment 1999/2000
Reach 83,226 students regionwide
Why Teaches entrepreneurial skills, high-profile volunteers, aims to nip unemployment in the bud
Tel + 962 6 568 1147
