From the 25th to the 28th of April, the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity organised in cooperation with UK Labour through the Westminster Foundation and the Foundation Max van der Stoel a training weekend in Amman for the Future Leaders project. The training was attended by representatives of social democratic parties and youth organizations from Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
A young and diverse group focused on various issues such as ideology, campaigning, communication, and debating. They not only listened to the presentations of the trainers, but also actively participated in many exercises and simulation games, in which they could put theory into practice. Our partner in Jordan, the Al Sindyan Institute provided great assistance in making the training possible, while the UK Labour Party and the Foundation Max van der Stoel provided trainers to conduct the training. A new element this year was that there were also trainers from the region. Two alumni of the previous project cycle were invited to share their experience and to grow as trainers themselves.
Trainers Rachel Holland (UK Labour Party), Jamila Aanzi (FMS, the Netherlands), Khaoula Hamid (PSU, Morocco) and Mohamed Jenhani (Ettakatol, Tunisia) worked with the participants on elements such as the main political ideologies (social democracy, conservatism and liberalism), creating and effectively communicating your central message, interview techniques, and public speaking skills.