Within the activities of the Deanship of Student Affairs at Al al-Bayt University and in cooperation with the Independent Election Commission, debates of “Ana Usharek" (I Participate) Program were held in the auditorium of the Faculty of Engineering, in attendance of the program director at the Independent Election Commission, Sawsan Ahmed, and a number of interested people. The program targeted university students of all disciplines.
The activity included a debate between university students after undergoing a series of exercises and a video presentation of the first campaign entitled “It was Made by the Miserable and Bought by the Desperate", which aims to toughen the punishment for practitioners of sorcery and witchcraft in the Jordanian Penal Code. Another video was about a campaign entitled “You Robbed my Life and Preempted my Death," which aimed to toughen the penalties for those who kill women in the Jordanian Penal Code.
The debates began by distributing the debate arbitration form, which confirms the statement that the age of candidacy for parliamentary elections has been reduced to 25, which will increase the percentage of youth representation in the House of the Parliament. The jury was composed of Dr. Ali Al-Shara'a from the Faculty of Law, Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Khawaldeh from the Faculty of Political Science, and the lecturer Marah Al-Safadi. The opposition team won the title of the debate champion of “Ana Usharek" and the debate cup of 2022.
The Vice Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Ghaith Al-Aitan, stressed that the constitutional amendments that were recently approved aimed to enable young people to participate in political life by reducing the age of candidacy to 25 years after it was 30 years, indicating that there is a clear royal interest in youth. He indicated that His Majesty King Abdullah II, Ibn Al-Hussein, gives youth more attention and always carries the message of the youth and calls for the need to refine their skills so that they can be the building blocks and growth of the state. He added that Jordan has creative and intellectual youth in various fields, and this calls us to seriously seek to invest in young people and build on their capabilities to be true partners in the country's development and prosperity.
Al-Aitan expressed his pleasure with these debates and his pride of the university students who were on a high level of responsibility and proved that they are capable of competing and succeeding with their determination. He appreciated the role played by the team of trainers from “Ana Usharek" program at Al al-Bayt University in bringing the debates to this achievement, considering that these debates are a qualitative leap for the university and a great achievement to be scored.
Al-Aitan also expressed his pride in the partnership between Al al-Bayt University, the Independent Election Commission, and “Ana Usharek" program, which contributed to opening up horizons for extracurricular cooperation for students to unload their energies, enhance their belonging to the homeland and their loyalty to the Hashemite leadership, consolidate their principles, achieve their aspirations and desires, and provide them with skills of dialogue, debate, listening and respect for the other opinion.
The coordinator of “Ana Usharek" program, Hadeel Shawaqfeh, pointed out that the art of debate is not just a skill but a culture that we are trying to inculcate among university students. She indicated that researching, summarizing, and communicating the idea within a specific time and in an organized manner are not an easy thing, but rather require training and skill. She confirmed that the debate is an experience that refine the students' logical thinking and outlook, and the competition here is based on mental fitness, not physical fitness, assuring that it is an enjoyable experience for university students.
It is worth noting that the students of "Ana Usharek +" program, which is the advanced stage of "Ana Usharek", were trained in the skill of advocacy and debate, and debates are one of the program's activities.
