His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday attended the annual celebration of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) at the King Hussein Business Park, held this year under the slogan “City of Innovation”.

The ceremony featured a showcase of KAFD’s achievements in 2017 and success stories involving young beneficiaries of the Fund’s programme’s.

During a tour of the “City of Innovation” exhibition, King Abdullah was shown a number of projects supported by KAFD, such as research and innovation projects by university students, and projects that utilise virtual reality technology to serve archaeological and environmental heritage, as well as development and the community.

In remarks at the ceremony, Chairman of KAFD’s Board of Trustees Imad Fakhoury said the Fund’s strategy, in implementation of the royal vision, is based on the idea that the productive and active engagement of youth starts at the age of nine and continues afterwards, with young people gaining new experiences at every stage through KAFD’s programmes, based on their interests and ambitions.

In 2017, Fakhoury continued, KAFD provided 65,000 opportunities for youth around the Kingdom, expecting the number to rise to 100,000 in 2018.

He added that KAFD has provided support for nine new community service projects addressing vital issues, such as extremism on the Internet and education accessibility.

Oasis500, Fakhoury noted, has invested JD4.51 million in 122 start-ups in the fields of ICT and creative industries. These start-ups went on to attract JD33.6 million in investments and create over 600 job opportunities.

This year, KAFD has also developed a portal through the ForUS career-building platform to support innovative projects, creating a database of institutions that provide micro-funding and finance small-sized projects, thus consolidating self-employment among youth, he added.

The Fund is currently working on opening gaming labs in Zarqa and at Karak’s Mutah University, in addition to a smaller lab at Karak’s Creativity Club, after this experience succeeded in Amman, Irbid, Maan, and Aqaba, according to Fakhoury.

Moreover, KAFD’s youth arm, the All Jordan Youth Commission has provided 26,700 opportunities for young people through 516 activities implemented this year, he said. 

KAFD is also about to complete the second stage of the Great Arab Revolt project/the 1916 journey in Wadi Rum, which will feature adventure tourism and camping opportunities, creating more direct and indirect job opportunities and boosting the partnership with the private sector, Fakhoury explained, outlining some of KAFD’s other projects for 2018.

The ceremony also featured the screening of a short video showcasing the success stories of KAFD’s young beneficiaries, as well as a performance by the Balqa Choir and Orchestra, which are supported by the Fund.

Their Royal Highnesses Princess Rym Ali and Princess Noor bint Asem attended the ceremony.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh, Royal Hashemite Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan, a number of ministers, Royal Hashemite Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi, members of KAFD’s board of trustees, and several officials and representatives of the private sector, civil society, and the media were also in attendance.