December 18, 2019
    The Youth Resolve Program: My Internship in Jordan

    It has been exactly a month since I started my Global Internship in Policy Advocacy. After three months of being an intern in the Marketing and Communications department in HAD, I was offered the wonderful opportunity to travel to Amman, Jordan, to support the closure of the Youth RESOLVE program in the World Vision office. And after this short amount of time, all I can say is that my life here cannot be more perfect.

    My job at Youth RESOLVE

    The Youth RESOLVE program in Jordan is an EU-Funded project focused on strengthening the resilience of young Syrian Refugees and Jordanians, empowering the youth as leading actors in post-conflict reconstruction in three main areas: education, livelihood and WASH. At first, I thought I would only be supporting the Jordan side of the project, but actually, I have been participating in the closure of the three countries that share the MADAD project: Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. It has been nonstop but very exciting and challenging, which is something I have always aimed for. Specifically, what I do consists in coordinating and supporting the final events, videos and newsletters of the project in the three countries. Because of this, the Global Internship has given me the chance to not only work in Jordan, but also get to know people from other parts of the Middle East that share the same goals as I do.

    My favourite thing about Jordan: the people

    My colleagues in World Vision have been very welcoming and have invited me to get to know their culture, which is something I will always be grateful for. The team has invited me to visit the Youth RESOLVE projects on field, which has opened my eyes on how much help Syrian Refugees and local Jordanians need. I have been present to one of the most amazing activities, where the youth were invited to stop the segregation between Syrians and Jordanians, which have been a success in the MADAD project. Also, there are many workshops offered by the Youth RESOLVE program in collaboration with our partners (Generations for Peace and Questscope), that have focused on teaching student’s awareness of fake news in social media. These workshops answer to a high demanding problem in the region, and as a journalist myself I think it would be very helpful in many other countries as well. There are many other successful programs, including informal education, apprenticeships, construction of communal places for youth, etc., that must be shown to the world. And that is my mission as an Intern here. Using what I learned in HAD in the Marketing & Communications department, I think we will be able to communicate the Youth RESOLVE program in the best way.

    And of course, this opportunity has not only been about work. I have also been learning Arabic and joined a football team, that has allowed me to get to know new people and make friends. I’m sure that this time in Jordan will be a life-changing experience for me, not only for my work experience but also my personal development, and has given me the opportunity to get to know a culture that I had only studied in books before.

     

    Written by Gabriela Hagedorn

    Marketing & Communications Intern