Queen Rania Launches Second Stage of Jordan Education Initiative

(Jordan Times - Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania on Wednesday launched the second stage of the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) and its strategic plans for the next three years.

At a meeting yesterday, attended by JEI board members and principal partners, the Queen praised the JEI’s continued ability to draw more partners from various areas of the world five years after its launch, saying this attests to the initiative’s success.

The JEI not only provides the tools and technologies for schools, but also brings about change and facilitates the learning and teaching processes, the Queen told participants.

This initiative is a constant project which does not end because it involves creativity and ingenuity and these do not come to an end, Queen Rania said.

She thanked the sponsors, commending their roles in activating a real partnership between the private and the public sectors, and also praised JEI support for the “Madrasati” initiative.

The Queen pointed out that achieving success in the long run requires ongoing commitment from JEI partners, investing in the community and identifying their needs, in addition to cooperating with civil society institutions.

Meanwhile, JEI Executive Officer Haif Bannayan presented a briefing on the initiative’s achievements and goals.

He also spoke of the role that JEI partners can play in achieving the initiative’s aspirations.

JEI plans include an agreement to be signed between Microsoft, the Ministry of Education and the initiative on implementing the second stage of the Partners in Learning Programme, which seeks to enhance the use of technology in schools.

The five-year agreement, which will be implemented as of September under JEI supervision, also seeks to foster creative thinking and provide tools to benefit students and teachers.

USAID Deputy Mission Director Dana Mansuri expressed the agency’s readiness to support the initiative financially, in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, until the JEI becomes financially independent.

Yesterday’s meeting was held within the framework of a JEI conference to launch the initiative’s second stage with participants from several IT companies, including Microsoft, Cisco Intel, Smart, IBM, Creative Associates, EDC and Oracle.

Representatives from the education, information and communications technology, and planning ministries, the Greater Amman Municipality, the King Abdullah Fund for Development and the Royal Consultative Committee on general education also attended the conference.

During the conference, experts presented the results of an evaluation on the impact of the JEI projects since its launch in June 2003.

They also discussed several papers on performance monitoring and modern technological methods that the JEI introduced to around 100 schools.

The JEI is an innovative public-private partnership designed to develop new approaches to teaching and learning and creating a nurturing and enabling environment of self-discovery and experiential learning.

Launched upon the directives of Queen Rania, the initiative was transformed at the beginning of this year into a nonprofit institution that is fully owned by the King Abdullah Fund for Development.