FNST

On March 9^th – 10^th 2012, a joint planning workshop brought together the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) and leading activists of Jordan’s Free Thought Forum (FTF). The workshop’s objective: developing a common action plan for the year 2012 and establishing sub-committees at the Forum in charge of following up on the various activities.

 

From March From March 6^th – 8^th 2012, FNF’s MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) based project directors as well as representatives from head-office in Germany and the EU-Liaison office in Brussels convened in Amman for the foundation’s regional office conference.The three days meeting, consisting of intensive discussions on the foundation’s strategies in the region, was held against the background of striking political, social and economic developments unfolding in several countries of the region.

 

 

March 5^th, 2012

Amman -

“Jordan's government expenses account for 45% of the Kingdom’s economy, a ratio three times the world average”, said MP and former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Abdallah Nsour, warning that “the resulting economic distortion constitutes Jordan’s single biggest economic challenge.”

YEA/FNF Press Release

January 24, 2012

Amman -

“Entrepreneurship means taking great risks to realize dreams. And there has never been a better time to become an entrepreneur in Jordan than now”, said Mr. William D. Cohan, award winning American business book author, journalist and former Wall Street banker.

YEA/FNF Press Release
Amman - December 13, 2011

According to Dr. Omar Razzaz, Chair of the National Employment Strategy Team, “a new social contract between governments and their citizens should be the basis for the future of all Arab countries in order for them to prosper and in turn offer their citizens opportunity, employment, and benefits”.

These remarks were made during an event hosted on Tuesday morning by the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) as part of its well-established “Economic Power Breakfast” series.

Conference: "Understanding the Arab Spring – Recommendations for Peaceful Transitions to Democracy", 17 November 2011

AMMAN – FNF/ICG press release

“We have been witnessing tremendous events in the Arab world, and their impact sends a message throughout the world. What we need is a long term understanding of the new challenges we are facing”, said Louise Arbour, President and CEO of the conflict resolution organisation International Crisis Group.

She made these remarks during a conference on Thursday organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) titled "Understanding the Arab Spring – Recommendations for Peaceful Transitions to Democracy". In attendance: numerous Jordanian dignitaries, international ambassadors and more than 100 guests from the diplomatic corps, civil society, academia and the private sector.

We are looking for two motivated individuals to join our team. The deadline to apply is October 26.

To view detailed job descriptions, click on the respective link for each position:

1- Executive Assistant

2- Administrative and Project Assistant

A minute’s silence in memory of the victims that have fallen during the “Arab Spring”: This gesture, which inaugurated the regional strategy workshop for member organisations of the Network of Arab Liberals (NAL), arose from a sentiment marked by anger – about the bloody suppression of protest movements in many countries – as well as determination, to make use of this historical opportunity and realize the shaping of free and democratic societies.

23 May 2011

AMMAN –

According to Jalil Tarif, CEO of Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), a cautious “wait and see” approach has been defining the mood at the country’s bourse recently, affecting performance and decreasing trade volumes. “Shareholders are hesitating. The moment we witness sustainable progress in regards to the ongoing political and economic reform initiatives, we will witness an end of the current stagnation and a boost to the market’s performance.”

26 January 2011

AMMAN –

“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are potentially the most important engine for sustainable economic growth in Jordan. But in spite of accounting for more than 60% of economic output and jobs in the Kingdom, they still only receive 27% of the banks’ loans portfolio”, said Mr. Haytham Kamhiyah, CEO of Capital Bank.

The last joint YEA/FNF event of 2010, with more than 70 guests in attendance

Mr. Ralf Erbel, Director of the FNF Amman office, and Mr. Samer Jabari, Board Member of the YEA, welcomed the audience – among them many entrepreneurs, academics, diplomats and journalists – at the Landmark Amman hotel before giving the floor to the evening’s keynote speaker, economist Dr. Yusuf Mansur.

The well-known columnist and consultant examined Jordan's rankings in the Global Competitiveness Index, the Ease of Doing Business index, the Index of Economic Freedom by the Heritage Foundation, and the Economic Freedom of the World Index by the Fraser Institute – the last of which Dr. Mansur described as “historically most accurate.”

More than 60 guests attended the panel discussion “Educating Entrepreneurs: Innovation in the Education Sector and Economic Development in Jordan” organized by the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Amman Office.

Mr. Ralf Erbel, Director of the FNF Amman office, welcomed the audience at the Al Hussein Cultural Centre before giving the floor to the evening’s keynote speaker, Dr. Firas Rifai. A trained economist, Dr. Rifai presented ideas based on his Ph.D. thesis on entrepreneurship and the role of human capital and innovation in the economic development of Jordan. He set out a plan of creating a new generation of entrepreneurs in the country. The centrepiece: re-modeling the education system to strengthen individual schools in various ways, enabling them to empower their pupils and instill in them an optimistic, vital sense of entrepreneurship to tackle life’s challenges with.

“Horizon for the Jordanian Economy and Labour Market in Light of the New Social Security Law” was the title of a seminar on economic and social transformations in Jordan held by the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) in July. Organized in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF), the event featured keynote speaker Dr. Omar M. Al-Razzaz, Deputy Chairman of the Social Security Corporation.

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Amman office held a discussion session entitled “Civil and Political Freedom in Jordan” followed by a dinner reception. Mr. Ralf Erbel, Resident Representative of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty in Jordan opened the session with a welcoming note highlighting the importance of political dialogue, in this case dialogue among Government and civil society.

June 14, 2010

The promotion of a political dialogue between members of civil societies in Europe and the Arab world is an important objective of the project work of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Together with liberal political parties NGOs pushing a liberal agenda are the main partners of the Foundation in this part of the world. In cooperation with the Foundation these groups are striving for more freedom of expression, the rule of law and the freedom of assembly and association – to name but the most important political rights.

Twenty-six liberal youth leaders from the Arab world came together in Tunis from April 26 to 29, 2010 for a workshop entitled “Strategies to Empower and to Strengthen liberal youth organizations in the Arab world”. Organized by the Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) in cooperation with the Foundation’s office in Tunis and co-sponsored by the Parti Social Liberal (PSL) of Tunisia, the three-day activity brought together young liberal activists from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.

In two workshops conducted in Jordan and Lebanon on 8-13 December 2009, more than 50 young liberals were trained in FNF workshops by Mr Frederik Ferié, an expert on political marketing and currently Secretary General of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY).

The relationship between economic freedom and social justice was the theme of this year’s Economic Freedom of the ArabWorld Conference, held in Marrakech on 14-15 November 2009. As in earlier years, the event was co-organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF), the Fraser Institute of Canada and the International Research Foundation of Oman. The Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Morocco Centre de Jeunes Dirigents D’Entreprise joined as local partners. FNF’s Amman Office sent to the conference distinguished economic and political partners from Jordan’s Young Entrepreneurs Association YEA (Mr. Nidal Bitar), the Jordanian Free Thought Forum (Mr. Tarek Zuriekat), the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Mr. Rassin Martini, Mr. Amer Hafi), Iraq’s former deputy finance minister, Dr. Kamal Field Al-Basri, and Lebanon’s Mr. Zeiad Hariri on behalf of the Lebanese Economic Association LEA.

More than 60 guests assembled to attend the panel discussion organized by the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Amman Office, in partnership with the German Embassy Amman. Among them: Ambassadors and other diplomats from Europe and beyond, as well as over 20 members of the Jordanian Foreign Service and dozens of friends and partners of FNF in Jordan.

AMMAN, Jordan — The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) introduced three codes of conduct for civil society organizations (CSOs) in a seminar entitled “Civil society in Jordan, Democracy and the Rule of Law”. The seminar was held at the Landmark Hotel, Amman on 21 June 2009 in cooperation with the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF). It comes in the framework of a three year EU-cofinanced regional project on Freedom of Association in the Arab World.

Two back-to-back workshops in Tunis and Rabat conclude the “Maghreb Outreach” component of the FNF-EU cofinanced regional project on Freedom of Association in the Arab World

Two successful back-to-back workshops held in Tunis on January 19th 2010 and in Rabat on January 21st 2010 concluded the “outreach component” of the FNF-EU cofinanced regional project on Freedom of Association in the Arab World. The project, which aims at enhancing the legal framework of associations in the Arab World through national dialogue and empowerment of civil society, is a three year project (2007-2010) implemented by the Amman office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty and its Arab partner organisations.

Role of New Media in Advocacy

Over 40 Jordanian digital activists and civil society representatives attended a discussion session entitled ”The Role of New Media in Advocacy” on October 23rd, an event organized jointly by the Free Thought Forum (FTF) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) in the framework of a series of events designed to enhance citizens’ participation in public life.
Held on the sidelines of a two day workshop on podcasting and web 2.0. applications, the workshop was held in the presence of FTF president Mr. Saed Karajah, FNF Programme Officer Ms. May Shalabieh and the evening’s guest keynote speaker, Mr. Marwan Youness, Secretary General of the Egyptian Reform and Development Party.

FriedrichNaumann Foundation for Liberty and its Jordanian partners launch the book in Amman

1/3/2009

Less than two weeks after the book launch events in Cairo and Beirut, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and its Jordanian partner – the National Center for Human Rights - proudly presented the Jordan edition of the book “Guiding Principles for the Right to Freedom of Association in the Arab World” to an interested audience and media representatives.

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, in the framework of its strong partnership with the National Centre for Human Rights in Jordan, contributed along with other major sponsors to the “Fifth Conference of the Arab National Human Rights Institutions” which was held in Amman / Jordan on the 8-9 March 2009.

The two days conference discussed international standards concerning the monitoring and evaluation of elections as well as means of creating a democratic culture through elections.

Organized jointly by the Royal Film Commission (RFC) of Jordan and the International Academy of Educational Development, a workshop on “NGO Advocacy Film making” took place from Jan 8th – 18th 2009.

Among the various young and artistic-minded participants in the workshop was Ms. Dima Al-Jolani, Administrative and Project Assistant at the Amman office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty.

On September 18th 2008, the foundation hosted more than one-hundred young men and women from various Jordanian governorates for a dialogue session, followed by Iftar, at a restaurant on the outskirts of the capital Amman.

audienceThe energetic and optimistic group had three things in common as all of them had participated in FNF-sponsored training seminars on “good governance”, “citizenship” and “freedom of expression”. That and they were in the process of drafting recommendations to be addressed to their representatives in parliament and - last but not least - they had gathered on that late afternoon to engage in a dialogue session with H.E. Mr. Mubarak Al-Abbadi, member of the Jordanian Parliament and its Legal Committee.

The Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jordan (YEA), in association with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (Jordan Office), the Fraser Institute, and the Cato Institute has undertaken a project to audit Jordan’s economic policies with the goal of increasing economic freedom in Jordan. The conference was held under the patronage of the Prime Minister, His Excellency Engineer Nader Al Thahabi, who was represented by Her Excellency Ms. Suhair Al Ali, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.

Tuesday, 18 November 2008

"Arab particularity" is a catchphrase used to justify the inapplicability of international standards and criteria in the Arab context. The ensuing attitude has resulted in marginalizing civil society, weakening state institutions, and failing to deliver on development plans, to say nothing about human rights violations.

Under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Amr Musa, Secretary General of the Arab League, and with the support of the European Union, Arab governments and CSOs took the floor at the Arab League premises, on October 18-19, 2008, to discuss and debate this pretext.

In the framework of their cooperation on the regional project “Freedom of Associations” the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Jordanian National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) organised a workshop on 18 June 2008 to scrutinize Jordan’s new political parties’ law and its ramifications for political participatory life in the country.

“This event comes just when it is mostly needed” said a representative of one of the dissolved parties in Jordan.  It is the “time to asses the law and to work for its amendments”.
A total of 24 political parties were dissolved in April 2008 in accordance with the new Political Parties’ Law, after failing to rectify their legal status and meet the minimum requirement of founding members.

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation has a new name and logo. It reads:
Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit or the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty.

For liberals, as the name implies, the key value on which society is based upon is freedom or liberty. However, in Germany as in many countries around the world, the value of freedom is increasingly under attack. Many people lay more stress on equality of outcomes, or on the emotionally charged but ill-defined “social justice,” or “security,” while being suspicious of individual freedom. It is noticeable in the resistance to open markets and competition, but also in the zeal to regulate and control what people can say in public, how they dress, behave, what food they eat and who they associate with. The “War on Terror” has produced a suspiciously eager response from governments around the globe, among rich and poor nations alike, to expand police powers and curb individual liberties.

Saed Karajah, the President of the Jordanian Free Thought Forum joined a delegation of the Network of Arab Liberals (NAL) for an informative visit to Brussels and Berlin from April 20-26, 2008 titled „Organization and Program Development of Modern Liberal Parties”.

In Brussels, the Arab delegation held meetings with leaders of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and a representative of Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties.

His Excellency Mr. Taher Al-Masri, Member of the Jordanian Senate and Former Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, will participate in two events of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation on the occasion of the Foundation’s 50 year anniversary.

The visit will include a ceremonial event with the participation of the Federal President of Germany in Bonn on May 19th and an International Conference entitled “Masterplan 2050: Strategies for a Free World”, on May 20th and 21st.

In his capacity as the Civil Society Commissioner of the Arab League Mr. Al-Masri is an important partner in the Foundation’s regional project on Freedom of Associations in the Arab World.

Amman, Jordan, 30/6/2007

Nine MPs were invited to share with civil society their concern regarding the draft NGO law presented to the parliament in its extraordinary session in a meeting prepared by the National Centre for Human Rights in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) say that the new draft law violates the Jordanian constitution, the rights to association and assembly and international law which only allows for restrictions on these rights in narrow circumstances that are “necessary in a democratic society”.  These points were also reiterated in the opening address of Dr. Ali al-Dabbas, assistant to the commissioner, National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR).