Sustainable Tourism in Wadi Rum

In the village of Al Dieseh in Jordan, nine young Bedouin women are unleashing their creative skills and earning an income. They are members of the Al Dieseh Cooperative, which is producing ceramics to sell to locals and tourists who come to see the famous desert landscape of Jordan's Wadi Rum protected area.

The project, also known as Siyaha, is working with the Jordanian government, local communities, NGOs, and tourism-related groups such as the cooperative, to develop a dynamic and competitive tourism industry.

Could this type of model be applied to Saudi Arabia? Even though international tourism is not common in the Kingdom, could domestic tourism benefit from this type of venture?

King Abdullah II Awards Youth Innovators for Community Projects

During the closing ceremony of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East (held at the Dead Sea from 15-17 May 2009), King Abdullah II of Jordan honored four winners out of ten outstanding Arab youth finalists for leading pioneering efforts in their communities to improve people’s lives.

The winners of the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement were:

• Rabee Zureikat, 29, Jordan - Project aims to promote greater equality through volunteerism, cultural exchanges and micro-loans
• Lana Hijazi, 27, Palestine - Launched a mobile-based service matching job seekers and employers
• Abdelkareem Bedri, 22, Sudan - Works with the hearing impaired to increase learning and employment opportunities among this vulnerable group
• Raghda El Ebrashy, 26, Egypt - A YouthActionNet ® Global Fellow, who addresses the economic needs of youth and women in Old Cairo by offering them vocational training and job placement support.

The awards program was launched by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) in partnership with the International Youth Foundation (IYF) to support young social entrepreneurs in the Arab World.

KAFD was supported throughout the award process by YouthActionNet®, which is the International Youth Foundation’s youth leadership initiative that has provided 140 young leaders from 55 countries with capacity building and leadership training through its global fellowship program.

To learn more about the finalists, click here
For more information on IYF’s YouthActionNet program, click here

Middle East Regional Social Entrepreneurs 2009- Schwab Foundation

Two social entrepreneurs from the Middle East have been recognized by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship as winners of the Middle East Regional Social Entrepreneurs 2009.  The winners (listed below) were honored at an awards ceremony in Jordan at the end of May.  (information below from the Schwab Foundation website)

Naif Al Mutawa – Teshkeel Media Group (”THE 99”) –  Kuwait 

 

Teshkeel Media Group is focused on creating wholesome new children’s adventures 

through its proprietary superheroes, “THE 99”. Drawing upon global history, culture and traditions, its aim is to provide positive and inspirational role models for children that are inspired by Islam albeit on a global level. THE 99 are superheroes from 99 countries that work together to improve the world with story lines that promote diversity, multiculturalism, personal responsibility and personal accountability. THE 99 comics have been licensed in 8 languages with editions in Indonesia, Turkey, France, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal already, with other countries soon to be included. THE 99 Village theme park – the first of six – recently opened in Jahra, Kuwait and a global animation project co-Produced with media giant Endemol is poised to hit the airwaves by the end of 2009.  

 

Ziad Al Refai – Tamweelcom  – Jordan 

 

Tamweelcom is the Middle East's leading Microfinance organization, ranked 8th best microfinance bank worldwide. It provides credit opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs, who cannot access the banking system due to a lack of collateral. It also provides business training and vocational services to the poorest communities in Jordan, women-led families and widows, through its loan offices. Through successful innovations such as the Souk Ayyadi markets that create sales channels for the products and services of its members, educational scholarship funding for performing member’s family, and “pay and renew” loan systems, Tamweelcom has continued to grow and serve client’s needs. Since inception, it has served more than 100,000 micro-entrepreneurs with more than $75 million (USD) in loans. 

Obama's speech, in case you missed it...

On social entrepreneurship...

"On economic development, we will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world."

On women...

"Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity – men and women – to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams."

Let Her Get Fat!

"Let her get fat!" is the new cry from the women of Saudi Arabia who are challenging a a recent clampdown on female-only gyms.

Following a recent increase in unlicensed female gyms, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs recently closed two in Jeddah and one in Dammam for not having a license.

Why? Female gyms have no official authority overseeing them, so while male gyms get licenced by the government, female gyms are technically illegal.

In a religious opinion published in Okaz newspaper, Sheikh Abdullah al-Maneea (member of the official Supreme Council of Religious Scholars) explained that "Football and basketball are sports that require a lot of movement and jumping," and suggested that such excessive movement may harm girls who are still virgins, possibly causing them to lose their virginity.

According to an article from Reuters, "women's gyms can only exist inside hospitals as 'health centres' supervised by the Ministry of Health but prices are so high, at least 1,000 riyals ($266) a month, that only the affluent can afford membership. Cheaper versions have sprung up under name 'beauty salon' or 'studio' but now their future is in doubt."

Madawi Al-Hassoun of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce said the chamber has been trying for three years to find a government body prepared to take on board licensing female gyms.

Considering the high rates of diabetes and even bone frailty among women, and the fact that the Ministry of Health says it does want to combat these issues, is there any way to solve this issue without upsetting religious clerics or government entities?

Women and "Wasta"

"Wasta", an Arabic expression that loosely translates into ‘who you know’ or 'clout', refers to using influence or connections to get things done (such as quick renewal of a passport, waiving fines/tickets, and acquiring sought-after jobs).

While "wasta" is deeply ingrained in Middle East culture, it is not unique to Middle Eastern culture- dare I say... a global phenomenon... or perhaps even a global tradition?

AmericanBedu (a blog by an American expat living in Saudi Arabia) discussed the issue on her blog this week. She says:

I know of several western women who are married to Saudis and have been in the Kingdom for more than 25 years. They not only are married to prominent Saudis but they also are successful and influential in their own rights. These women certainly do have their own WASTA network. They have shared that they do need to be watchful of who approaches them. It is not unusual for others (men and women) to seek such women out not for who they are as an individual but due to the perception that association with such women raises their own status in the Kingdom and falsely ensures them of having WASTA as well. Examples of how foreign women are approached and asked to exert WASTA include in finding jobs for others; facilitating healthcare and getting appointments with doctors who are usually booked up; assisting in marriage approvals; assistance with transferring iqamas or receiving no-objections; assist with getting children admitted to specific international schools.

Thoughts?

While I understand how this phenomenon works in other parts of the world, I am less familiar with the way it works in the Arab world- and more specifically in Saudi Arabia. I am curious:

• how do women develop "wasta"?
• is it passed via marriage?
• what about non-Saudis?
• what about those who were not born into priviledge?

Photo courtesy of Springglobe's photostream

Obama's Townhall with Turkish students...

"You can choose to build new bridges instead of building new walls. You can choose to put aside longstanding divisions in pursuit of lasting peace. You can choose to advance a prosperity that is shared by all people and not just the wealthy few. "

See it here:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Full transcript here