1- Technical & vocational training and education – Rebuild for peace.
2- Entrepreneurial education and innovation – ADAA' / social entrepreneurship.
3- The program on building the capacity of non-profit organizations– (FADHAA') non-profit organizations.
4- The program on improving access to educational opportunities – (AFAAQ) educational program.
Technical & vocational training and education
Rebuild for peace:
In light of a wide spread unemployment, poverty, and declining opportunities for the youth in many regions of the country, we deemed that it's incumbent upon our "Umbrella" to contribute some solutions for these predicaments. This is an effort that goes hand in hand with the government endeavors to that end; steaming from our believe that a true cooperation and partnership between the public sector, civil society, and the private sector constitute the key to the success in finding such solutions.
Based on this ground, the idea of establishing a TVET center in Karak governorate began to crystallize. A center that would utilize regional and international best practices and methods to qualify a well-aware generation of youth that is equipped with the vocational skills necessary to enable them access the labour market. The program focuses on a very important aspect; which is to eliminate the stereotyping of vocational occupations as being the last resort for those who fail academically, and to abolish the cultural stigma. The program also targets refugee communities with a view to equip refugees with the vocational skills needed to enable them contribute to rebuilding the community peacefully.
Entrepreneurial education and innovation
- ADAA' / social entrepreneurship:
The entrepreneurial education and innovation program (ADAA') aims to teach entrepreneurship to the youth in remote and underprivileged areas of the kingdom; inspiring and engaging the Jordanian youth to be champions of positive change in their communities.
In July of 2016, Blue Umbrella has officially launched the initial phase of the program; entitled: Entrepreneurship, Supporting future leaders. This phase will be implemented in partnership with a number of local organizations in Jordan who will provide the necessary support, and contribute to the promotion and follow-up of the program.
This phase aims to provide opportunities for innovatively-spirited entrepreneur youth. This can be achieved through training and education of the youth on entrepreneurial and necessary skills; orienting them on the relevant issues.
The program on building the capacity of non-profit organizations
- (FADHAA') non-profit organizations.
One of Blue Umbrella's main anchors and one of the most important reasons for its genesis is its conviction that creating education and training horizons is a necessity to cater for the needs of youth activists, as well as the CBOs and cooperatives operating in underprivileged and refugees' host communities. Hence, it became necessary to establish specialized and dedicated centers to address these imperfections and capacity deficiencies, and to create a liberated educational space; underpinned by quality education and training.
The aggregation of the centers formed what was later called "NGOS space". This includes:
- The community creativity umbrella:
The organization took the decision to establish a center dedicated for building the personality, nurturing creativity and entrepreneurship in Karak governorate. The center would target fresh university graduates to develop their inter-personal and life skills, as well as to improve their employability and enable them to lead their own startups. The program focuses specifically on "Social entrepreneurship" as one among other solutions for economic issues and a contributing factor to the alleviation of unemployment.
On this ground, our organization chose to approach the overarching umbrella in the local community; namely "Karak greater municipality" with a view to sign a partnership agreement that would establish this first of its kind center in Karak. The center aims to equip human resources; especially the youth, with the knowledge, skills, and tools that would improve their performance and competence. Further, the center aims at advocating for social developmental practices, by providing work stations, training classes, and meeting halls for local CBOs and civil society to have a space to convene and meet with the youth. The center also boasts a library of books, studies, and research related to the topic of volunteer and non-profit work.
- The youth creativity incubator
Steaming from its vision of being a developmental incubator, our organization has dedicated all of what it can offer for the Jordanian youth to assist them demonstrate their creativity and to develop their skills. Thus, the organization has provided a space for the youth to work on improving their skills, and has equipped them with start-up tools and legal support. It had also worked on convening regular trainings and seminars in fields like: writing and managing social project, for example to enhance their thinking.
The program on improving access to educational opportunities
- (AFAAQ) educational program.
Accessing educational opportunities in remote and underprivileged communities is relatively difficult, while informal educational programs and extra-curricular activities are quite limited. Thus, our organization has launched one of its most significant programs; which aims at promoting the educational opportunities and informal education. The project is entitled "AFAQ"; and is based on three main projects:
1. "My scholarship" project for university education:
One of the most difficult to overcome challenges facing university students is the financial challenge, whereas parents usually bear the responsibility of paying their children tuition despite the economic conditions the Jordanian citizen is witnessing. In order to support and maintain the educational motive with the Jordanian youth, and to enhance their creativity and to relief the families of the financial burden, our organization has designed a project specifically tailored to support university students by securing the tuition fees for a number of high-achieving students who cannot otherwise afford to pay their tuition. This project is a clear manifestation of social responsibility.
2. "My education, my right" project:
Children enjoy their parents care and nurturing of their talents. However, a significant number of children do not have this privilege, either due to poverty, or when the child had lost both or either one of his/her parents, or because the child is a refugee. Based on that, our organization has designed a project targeting orphaned, poor, and refugee children. The project aims to cultivating the child's personality by training the child on life skills as appropriate to their age group. The targeted age group is (8 – 14) years of age. Children are trained and nurtured and divided into classes according to their aptitude. The three classes are: drawing, histrionics, and music.
The project is implemented on weekends over the span of three months; during which the organization provides all necessary supplies and logistics free of charge; including transportation, meals, and all child care items throughout the project period.
3. "Supporting SOS children" project
After intensive meetings with the people in charge of the youth programs in "SOS" villages for those lacking the family support, our organization has designed a project addressing this segment of the youth in Jordan. The youth in these villages usually suffer a number of economic and social challenges that limit their chances to integrate with the local communities.
The project included programs that combine building the personality and vocational training of the youth; addressing the problems that stood between them and between blending in the community in the first place, as well as overcoming the social barriers and the financial difficulties that limit their integration.