HRH Prince El-Hassan bin Talal patronized the opening of the activities of the 15th International Conference of the History and Archeology of Jordan, entitled “Thoughtful Archaeology in the Ecosphere and Sociosphere” organized by the Department of Antiquities in cooperation with Yarmouk University.

The opening ceremony was attended by HRH Princess Dana Firas, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa from the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Nayef Al-Fayez, the President of Yarmouk University Professor Islam Massad, the Director General of the Department of Antiquities Dr. Fadi Balawi, the presidents of official and private universities, deputies, former ministers and officials, faculty deans, faculty members, and students from Yarmouk University.

In his speech at the opening of the conference, His Highness said that such meetings confirm that cultures transcend borders to reach a common understanding regarding cultural heritage and its association with the future. His Highness also pointed out that heritage is an advanced resource that supports identity, memory, and our sense of place and time and that it has a central role in achieving sustainable development represented by intellectual communication and diversity. He further pointed to the possibility of investing in workshops for preserving archaeological and historical sites. HRH then signed a mosaic mural and inaugurated the exhibition entitled "Jordan- the Story of Civilization".

For her part, Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa pointed out that Bahrain hosts a UNESCO regional center for the preservation of world human heritage sites, emphasizing that archaeological sites that are registered in the World Heritage List must be exceptional and meet certain criteria. She then stressed that tourism cannot be promoted without integrating it with antiquities in one system. She added that the center located in Bahrain launched a competition under the title "The Tale of Traces" that aims at reporting the story and memory of the place and record them in a film or brochure or any other means.

In his turn, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Mr. Nayef Al-Fayez, said that this conference is an opportunity to benefit from the meeting of archaeologists, researchers, and specialists to discuss how to preserve Jordan heritage and maintain its sustainability for future generations. He also explained that choosing the symbol of the oldest statues that were discovered at the archaeological site of Ain al-Ghazal as a permanent logo for the conference confirms that our homeland is as old as history, which always motivates us to promote our historical and archaeological heritage globally.

For his part, the President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, called on the conference participants to come up with recommendations that would make an effective contribution to the study of Jordan's cultural heritage. He also pointed out that the university has the lead among Jordanian academic institutions in studying and preserving Jordan's cultural heritage, as the Faculty of Archeology and Anthropology has the largest academic unit in Jordan working in the field of archeology, anthropology, ancient writings, and the maintenance and management of heritage resources.

The Director-General of the Department of Antiquities, Dr. Fadi Balawi, said that the conference aims at shedding light on archaeological sites and monuments in light of the changes within their ecosphere and sociosphere and trying to develop the vision of the Department of Antiquities in partnership with all institutes, scientific institutions, and international partners to confront environmental and social changes in the vicinity of archaeological sites.

The head of the Supreme Scientific Committee of the conference, Dr. Fayez Khasawneh, stated that the conference is to narrate the story of Jordan in its 15^th update. He added: “in spite of the woes and tribulations of marching armies, the people of Jordan as well as the entire Levant or Bilad Alsham, managed to build abiding social structures” and that they developed several moral codes of ethics and values.

10 August 2022

To achieve its strategic plan by offering new majors that serve the local, Arab and regional labor market, Yarmouk University declared establishing a faculty of Nursing, a new program in the Faculty of Arts called “Applied English Language”, and a Master program in digital marketing in the Faculty of Economy and Administrative Sciences beginning with next academic year 2022-2023.

10 August 2022

The Radio and Television Department of the Faculty of Mass Communication at Yarmouk University won the second place in Al Jazeera Documentary Competition for the short film in 2022 through a film entitled "Ezwati-My Pride", which was written and directed by the student Bushra Al-Sarayrah and supervised by Dr. Khuzaym Al-Khalidi. The film is a short social documentary targeting male and female volunteers aged 15 years and above from inside and outside Jordan, and it talks about a popular restaurant in the center of Amman, a place that raises the slogan “inta azem aw mazoum- you are invited or being invited”. The documentary urges solidarity and economic integration, as the restaurant is frequented by many people of different nationalities.

Here is the link of the movie "My Pride":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFvs9MeH1Ec&t=57s

10 August 2022

Yarmouk University began its celebrations of graduating a group of students from the first and second semesters of the forty-third cohort of the academic year 2021/2022. For the first day, students of Arabic language and literature, English language and literature, and history graduated, where the graduation speech was presented by student Buthainah Batayneh. At the end of the ceremony of the first day, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Musa Al-Rababah, handed over certificates to graduate students in the presence of a number of faculty members and students’ families.

10 August 2022

The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in Tunisia approved the request of Yarmouk University to join the ALECSO chair for educational studies and research in the network of scientific chairs affiliated with ALECSO since July 2022. The incumbent of the chair, Dr. Fawaz al-Momani, stated that the ALECSO Chair for Educational Studies and Research was established at Yarmouk University by a decision of the University Deans’ Council on February 24, 2020. He then mentioned that the chair is affiliated with the Scientific Network of ALECSO Chairs and that it aims at contributing to the various state institutions in conducting studies and implementing educational programs and research in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Arab region. He also added that the chair contributes to the dissemination of knowledge by holding academic and scientific seminars and by establishing links with local and international institutions, universities, and scientific institutes.

10 August 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, said during the press conference organized by the Department of Public Relations and Media that the activities of "Youth Summer 2022" started with the beginning of summer semester as the university has completed full preparations for launching a number of interactive programs and activities in full partnership with students from various faculties and departments. He said that the university has prepared supervising teams through the Deanship of Student Affairs and the various deanships of the faculties and its departments in coordination with the Department of Public Relations and Media where all the logistical aspects, halls, theatres, amphitheaters, and the necessary arenas have been prepared. Massad then stressed that this unconventional university summer will be a periodic approach in all upcoming semesters, and it comes in a contemporary innovative way. He added that the university was keen to partner with all faculties to offer activities needed by students to lead interactive dialogue sessions with a high level of interaction between students, opinion leaders, and officials.

Regarding the type of activities included in Yarmouk Youth Summer 2022, the Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Muhammad Thiyabat, explained that the program is divided into five weeks and includes many events and activities at the level of knowledge, skills, entertainment, and awareness. He mentioned that the first week includes holding the Third National Conference “The Royal Discussion Papers between Study and Implementation" as well as several dialogue sessions on youth and politics empowerment, especially “democracy” and “active citizenship”. In the second week, two dialogue sessions will be presented in the field of youth and political empowerment covering the themes: "elections and political parties" and "extremism", in addition to an interactive seminar on “Yarmouk Success Stories”, an awareness seminar on the “Awareness of Traffic Accidents”, “Working before Employment”, an interactive workshop “Discover Yourself”, and another on “Cybercrime (defamation and extortion). The third week, he said, includes an area of ​​youth and political empowerment through many dialogue sessions covering the royal discussion papers in addition to an exhibition of “Yarmouk innovations” that includes projects, innovations, patents, entrepreneurship, exhibitions, plays, music, singing, and other seminars on innovation, harassment, student sanctions, and awareness of the dangers of drug abuse. It also includes a community service activity, which is “cleaning Islamic and Christian cemeteries” and a symposium for celebrating the "Jordanian Youth and Sustainable Development". As for the activities of the fourth week, they include empowerment sessions, a number of poetry debates and a number of interactive dialogue sessions with students, a voluntary community activity in one of Bani Obaid schools, a symposium on the “Professional Accounting Certificate”, “Dealing with the University Security,” and “Sports Intolerance and its Reduction” and a competition entitled “Capturing the Flag/ CTF”. The last week includes various dialogue sessions and other activities, such as poetry readings to unleash talents in this field, “Jordanian cities and villages (in both Arabic and English), “Youth Empowerment and Volunteer Work”, “You are a Leader”, “Design Problems and Solutions”, a programming competition (YUPCP), and a panel discussion by the eminent preacher Dr. Muhammad Rateb al-Nabulsi.

For her part, the Director of the Dept. of Public Relations and Media, the official spokesperson for the university, Dr. Nawzat Abu Al-Asal, stated that it is expected that the “Youth Summer 2022” will achieve a number of outputs and desired goals, the first of which is that Yarmouk youth leads a cultural movement at the university and outside it and that their opinions, ideas and proposals will be adopted as beneficial decisions. She also stated that this summer comes as a proof that the university youth is a real and influential partner in public life through dialogue, which is a reliable channel for responsible expression in various national issues.

31 July 2022

As part of Yarmouk University’s endeavor to develop and improve its academic programs, the University’s Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences obtained a full membership certificate from the International Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), as the tasks of the association are to redefine the future of management education and meet the needs of the business sector in the world.

The Dean of the faculty, Dr. Michael Sweidan, said that this achievement represents the beginning of the path for the accreditation program that will set the faculty in the ranks of high-quality business schools globally, which will make it the focus of business sectors and colleges in international universities. Such membership, he added, will also help the faculty graduates to get acceptance in postgraduate studies in the best international universities and compete in the labor market in both the public and private sector.

10 August 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with a delegation from the University of Mexico, El Colegio de México, headed by the President of the University, Dr. Silvia Giorguli, in the presence of the Mexican Ambassador in Amman, Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez, to discuss possible ways of cooperation in social sciences and humanities, international relations, and studies of the Middle East and the Arab world as well as teaching Arabic to non-native speakers. Massad first welcomed the delegation and stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation through agreements and memoranda of understanding that contribute to achieving the desired outcomes, which reflects positively on the two parties. Such agreements, he explained, can include teaching Arabic and Spanish in a way that enhances the skills needed by students and opens up new horizons for them in the labor market. He also indicated that a special program for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers can be prepared at the university's language center to meet the expectations of the students of the University of Mexico, whether face-to-face or online.

The Mexican ambassador expressed the embassy's support for cooperative relations between Mexican educational institutions and Yarmouk University, stating that the University of Mexico is a gateway for cooperation with various universities, institutes and educational institutions in Latin America, especially as it has more than fifty years of experience in Research and studies related to Asia, Africa and Latin America.

For her part, Giorguli stressed the importance of the meeting, which is her first visit to the Middle East, pointing out her keenness to cooperate with Yarmouk University and open up prospects for joint work. She then pointed to the possibility of cooperation through the exchange of students and faculty members in the fields of social sciences and humanities, such as public administration, history, literature, sociology, demography, urban studies, and economics. She also referred to the possibility of cooperation in conducting and implementing research studies and scientific projects in areas of common interest like immigration and asylum, international relations and digital humanities, studies of the Middle East and the Arab world, and teaching Arabic for university students.

10 August 2022

The former president of the Jordanian House of Representatives, Lawyer Abdel Moneim Al-Odat, sponsored the Third National Conference entitled “The Royal Discussion Papers between Study and Implementation: A Road Map for the Future of Jordan”, which was organized by the late Samir Al-Rifai Chair for Jordanian Studies at Yarmouk University and the Cultural Forum of Irbid, in cooperation with the Executive Office For the celebration of Irbid as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2022 over two days in the Conferences and Seminars Building.

Al-Odat said that Jordan was able to transform the principles and themes tackled in the royal discussion papers into practical reality by making constitutional amendments that established the principle of the rule of law and the integration of powers, and paved the way for a review of the legislation governing the political life. He added that Jordan has withstood regional and international challenges, thanks to the wisdom of its Hashemite leadership and the expertise of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein in managing balances and crises, analyzing facts and developments, and foreseeing the future.  He also pointed out that in light of the progress made by the country over the past few years after the publication of the seven discussion papers and the subsequent conferences, seminars and meetings were conducted in substantive discussions on the contents of those papers, which formed the basis for a wide national discussion about the foundations on which we should build our democratic system.

The President of the Conference - President of the University, Professor Islam Massad, said that by organizing this conference with the participation of a group of researchers, thinkers and academics, Yarmouk University completes what had been accomplished in previous conferences and keeps pace with new ideas and visions related to the royal discussion papers. He added that since His Majesty King Abdullah II assumed his constitutional powers in 1999, His Majesty has worked to lay down a clear vision for comprehensive reform, development and support for democracy in the Jordanian state, emphasizing this through a series of discussion papers dealing with development and reform issues, thus stimulating national dialogue and democratic transformation.  Massad also pointed out that Yarmouk University organized this conference to confirm its important role in developing various types of science and knowledge and contributing to the history of the Jordanian state referring that the conference is the starting point of the important activities and events of “Youth Summer 2022”.

In his speech on behalf of the participants in the conference, the former Minister Dr. Hazem Qashou stressed that societies are formed by geography and themes. As for geography, it is defined for security purposes, and as for the latter, it is built on cognitive values ​​that societies carry through their leadership. He added that in the midst of this expelling atmosphere in the region, everyone was looking for a compass for survival, then His Majesty King Abdullah II presented his vision for the modern state project through his discussion papers, thus opening dialogue tools and activating atmosphere for pluralistic democratic action. Qashou also pointed out that this conference held by Yarmouk University, which is well-established in its role and mission, will not fail to address the issue of cognitive learning, which has become obligatory in light of the acceleration of events and the changing pace of education, indicating that the call for a work strategy for cognitive learning has become a necessity, especially after the state has found work strategies for political, administrative, and economic reform.

The head of the preparatory committee for the conference - holder of the Chair of Late Samir Al-Rifai for Jordanian Studies, Dr. Muhammad Anaqra, said that he hopes that by the end of the conference sessions and dialogues, participants will present several recommendations that will make Jordan a pioneering country in understanding and implementing democracy and a living model in political reform and comprehensive development. He referred that over two days, participants would discuss 54 research papers addressing what was stated in the discussion papers, trying to draw appropriate recommendations for democratic Jordan. Moreover, Anaqra affirmed that the conference attempts to contribute to the political and democratic development of Jordan, indicating that this would not have been possible without the great efforts of His Majesty the King in composing the discussion papers that represent a road map that guides the people, individuals and institutions, and guides successive governments in all their activities.

31 July 2022