The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation "JEDCO", in cooperation with the EU Delegation in Jordan, organized on Tuesday 17th of August 2021 an open day to present the supported innovation projects within the cross-border cooperation program in the Mediterranean region, which aims to empower the youth and women and to provide grants for project proposals that support creative ideas and capacity.

The ceremony was sponsored by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, H.E. Eng. Maha Ali, and attended by the EU ambassador in Jordan, H.E. Maria  Hadjitheodosiou, in addition to 100 attendees.

The Open day witnessed the signing of Memorandums of Understanding "MoUs" and cooperation between "JEDCO" and some ENI CBC MED projects which are: CRE@CTIVE, U-SOLVE, MYSEA,MEDGAIMS, PPI4MED, GREENLAND and HELIOS, aiming at creating synergies and linkages between them and aligning efforts to provide grants and job opportunities for youth and women in Jordan.
 

The projects' leaders had presented the objectives and its role in creating jobs for young people in the Mediterranean region, supporting entrepreneurship and creativity.

H.E. Eng. Maha Ali praised the areas of EU cooperation that come in line with the Jordanian government's vision towards strengthening economic and political cooperation with EU countries, towards economic openness, expanding markets and encouraging direct investment in Jordan, in light of the EU understanding of the challenges facing Jordan, including the requirements to host Syrian refugees and the consequences of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

H.E. Maria  Hadjitheodosiou, said “Intellectual property rights are an essential component of innovation; and their protection, along with the development of an Intellectual Property infrastructure, represents one of the strongest foundations for the creation of any economic sector capitalizing on new ideas. In this regard, IPMED can play a crucial role in enabling value and formal job creation from innovation and creativity of young entrepreneurs in Jordan and the region.”

JEDCO's CEO Abed Al-Fattah Al-Kayed said that Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) encourage entrepreneurs to be creative by safeguarding their innovative ideas. The EU project, IPMED, is aiming to give access to IPR to 1000 young men and women in the Mediterranean area to promote creativity and innovation that will improve economic growth.

The IPMED is implemented through (JEDCO) as a leader in partnership with Greece, Italy, Spain and Tunisia through a total of 1.194 million euros funded by the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme for the Mediterranean Basin within the European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI CBC MED).