The Ministry of Youth, Jordan River Foundation and UNICEF Launch Three Social Innovation Incubators across Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan – 6 June 2021: The Ministry of Youth in partnership with Jordan River Foundation, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched yesterday three social innovation incubators in MoY supported youth centers in the North, Center, and South of Jordan under the Social Innovation Programme.

These Social Innovation incubators in Amman, Tafelieh and Ajloun are aimed at empowering the most vulnerable young people (aged 14-24) in Jordan and allows a younger demographics to engage in innovation and identify the most pressing challenges in their communities and create entrepreneurial solutions to address them. It will instill entrepreneurship as a skillset and a mindset for young people. The impact is producing resilient young people who contribute socially, by being engaged with their families and schools, and civically and economically, by supporting and giving back to their communities and being productive whether through employment or self-employment.

The social innovation incubators will also provide personal empowerment and development of young people – by increasing their sense of belonging and their sense of agency and provide them with transferable skills such as decision-making, communication, team work, problem solving skills, which will help them drive change in their communities.

“Behind every vulnerable community lies that great, growling engine of change: social innovation. Through projects focusing on technology, citizenship, entrepreneurship, green energy, and transformational leadership, social innovation has come to define how we empower youth in their search for solutions that realize their potential and benefit their communities,” points JRF’s Director General Enaam Barrishi. “JRF continues to empower youth through social innovation driven by the continuous support and partnerships of UNICEF and the Ministry of Youth,” Barrishi adds.  

The three new incubators have been fully equipped with furniture, equipment, and technology that is essential for youth spaces focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2021, the aim is to reach additional 2,000 young people and to support 100 youth-led projects.

The incubators provide trainings on social innovation and social entrepreneurship based on UNICEF’s Global UPSHIFT methodology and curricula, technical trainings (on Arduino, filmmaking, coding, web development), mentorship, seed funding for building prototypes, physical space (hangout area, workshop area, meeting room, equipment), as well as access to post programme opportunities through a network that includes the private sector, international organizations, local NGOs, and mentors for growth and acceleration of the projects. Participants also get the chance to join annual hackathons and competitions in order to advance their projects.   

The social innovation incubators programme is generously supported by the Prospects partnership from the Government of the Netherlands.