The “Social Solidarity Economy Values and Principles: Education and Training Action and Financial Plans” project is run by the Applied Scientific Research Fund (ASRF) , subgrantee of MoreThanAJob in Jordan, which aims to understand the topic of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a transversal movement, linking values and principles to collective action and practices. At the end, trainees from various geographical regions in Jordan will understand the dynamics of SSE, as well as they will be able to distinguish SSE from other economical dynamics. They will also be equipped with the main knowledge, as well as basic competences, to implement those values and principles and translate them into collective action.

Project Main Target:

The project targets around 300 trainees who are refugees from various geographical regions in Jordan (Karak, Tafila, Maan and Shoubak) from low-income socio-economic backgrounds and working in SSE. It works with the target groups through vocational and educational trainings in the fields of social solidarity economy values and principles, democratic management in the social solidarity economy, and ethical and solidarity finance and resources.

The vocational and educational trainings aim to invest in the education and training of those trainees so that they can grow up as citizens who develop their professional activity with a more critical view on the current economic system.

The project includes three training modules aimed at promoting the Social Solidarity Economy at the level of Initial Vocational and Educational Training (IVET). These modules will affirm a new paradigm through IVET curricula innovation that will be developed by ASRF.

This will be achieved in three phases:

Phase-1

Number of Suggested Hours: 30 hours. The main aim of this module is to understand Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a transversal movement, linking values and principles to collective action and practices. At the end of this module, trainees from various geographical regions in Jordan will understand the dynamics of SSE, as well as they will be able to distinguish SSE from other economical dynamics. They will also be equipped with the main knowledge, as well as basic competences, to implement those values and principles into practice and collective action.

Phase-2

Number of Suggested Hours: 30 hours. The purpose of the training module titled “Democratic management in the SSE” is to provide all potential learners from various geographical regions in Jordan and relevant stakeholders with all the necessary information regarding the aspects of Democratic management in the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE). Specifically, at the end of this module, learners will be able to understand how Democratic management can be organized and be tailored to a collective goal, what are the benefits of this type of management and how it can help the development of organizations operating within the SSE. It mobilizes a plurality of economic principles and tools which can be manifested and used in most areas of economic activity (agriculture, industry, services, etc.) in order to run the SSE successfully. It goes far beyond only decision-making but includes all aspects of governance and organizational structures.

Phase-3

Number of Suggested Hours: 30 hours. The main purpose of the training module titled “Ethical and Solidarity Finance and Resources” is to clarify the meaning, principles, mechanism and tools of Ethical and Solidarity Finance. The learners will be introduced to different perspectives about Social and Solidarity Economy and will learn about opportunities and transformative potential of Ethical and Solidarity Finance as a pathway to societal change.

Project Progress:

ASRF has completed the needs assessment and research studies, networking with relevant stakeholders to increase awareness through media campaigns and has also completed participant selection through an application process that included over 60 applicants with priority given to  Palestinian young people who are uneducated, unemployed from marginalized areas and those who have initial background in SME Development and initial experience in developing start-up ideas.

As planned, the trainings started on February 27, 2022 where an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Labour. ASRF signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the coordinator of MoreThanAJob in Jordan during a press conference.

Monitoring and evaluation efforts will take place through a joint collaboration among members of the project team in Mutah University. ASRF is also working hardly on developing new synergies and enhancing the networking with private sector and Vocational Training Center (VTC) to gain the most benefit out of this training.