Amman, Sept. 21 (Petra) -- The fourth edition of the Al Hussein bin Abdullah II Award for Voluntary Service opened for nominations Monday, expanding eligibility to all residents of the Kingdom after drawing more than 47,000 applicants over its first three editions.
Youth Minister and Deputy Chairman of the award's Board of Trustees Raed Adwan announced the opening at a ceremony at Al Hussein Youth City, attended by ministers, officials, representatives of national and youth institutions and winners from previous editions.
Applications will remain open through the end of November across four categories covering individuals, volunteer teams, profit-making institutions and nonprofit organizations. Twelve awards will be presented, with the top three entries recognized in each category.
Adwan said the award, launched by HRH Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II in 2021 to mark International Volunteer Day, aims to encourage voluntary service, strengthen social responsibility and recognize initiatives that have made a measurable contribution to their communities.
The award was launched in partnership with the Crown Prince Foundation and UNICEF.
The fourth edition introduces changes to the award's regulations and procedures following three previous rounds. The revisions are designed to strengthen governance, institutionalize the award's operations, enhance the independence of the evaluation process and broaden participation.
Adwan said eligibility now extends to every Jordanian as well as all residents of the Kingdom who contribute their time, expertise and effort to community service.
He added that the award focuses on measuring the impact of voluntary initiatives and documenting volunteers' experiences, while highlighting projects capable of turning individual and institutional initiatives into sustainable community benefits.
Applicants can compete for best individual voluntary work, best volunteer team, best corporate social responsibility volunteer project by a profit-making institution, and best volunteer project by a nonprofit institution.
Eligible projects span social, health, education and training, sports, arts and culture, environmental and tourism activities, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation.
Once nominations close at the end of November, applications will undergo three stages of assessment: initial screening, desk evaluation and field evaluation.
Entries will be judged on the planning and implementation of the initiative, continuity of voluntary work, impact and results. All applicants will receive certificates of participation in recognition of their efforts.
Adwan said the award seeks to build a stronger culture of volunteerism by recognizing successful initiatives and encouraging individuals and institutions to adopt standards that improve the quality and sustainability of their projects.
Its guiding principles include giving, leadership, innovation, equal opportunity, social responsibility, transparency, sustainability and motivation.
Ahead of the launch, training and orientation sessions were held for award ambassadors and liaison officers from partner institutions. Additional sessions will be organized across the Kingdom's governorates during the nomination period to explain eligibility requirements and application procedures.
Applications and detailed guidelines for each category are available through the award's official website.
//Petra// RZ
