Amman, Oct. 21 (Petra) Minister of Youth and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II Award for Voluntary Service, Raed Adwan, on Tuesday met with the winners of the award from its first and second editions.

The meetings, held across the four categories of the award individuals, teams, profit institutions, and non-profit organizations were attended by the Ministry’s Secretary-General and Chairman of the Award’s Management Committee, Mazen Abu Al-Baqar.

Adwan said the award represents the highest form of national recognition granted in the field of volunteerism in the Kingdom, underscoring the importance of joint efforts among national institutions, volunteers, and award winners to achieve the award’s goals of promoting a culture of volunteerism and recognizing impactful, sustainable voluntary initiatives.

He noted that the award enjoys the direct attention and follow-up of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II, highlighting the Crown Prince’s commitment to honoring voluntary efforts and engaging with award winners as part of advancing and organizing volunteer work across the Kingdom in alignment with sustainable development goals.

Adwan stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships with official and national institutions as well as winning initiatives and of developing a marketing plan that highlights voluntary initiatives and the positive impact of volunteerism in various spheres of life.

He added that the meetings with award winners to be followed by others with various volunteer initiatives offer a platform for meaningful dialogue to generate recommendations and ideas that would enhance the quality of the next award cycle.

The minister affirmed the ministry’s dedication to institutionalizing purposeful voluntary initiatives within youth directorates and centers and to networking with various institutions to support such efforts and activities. He emphasized that all ministry centers remain open to youth and volunteer initiatives across the Kingdom.

Adwan also called for expanding voluntary work into new areas such as entrepreneurship, innovation, environment, health, education, and training, in addition to social and charitable work.

Participants, in turn, presented several ideas and proposals aimed at strengthening the culture of volunteerism in society and institutionalizing volunteer work, particularly in schools and universities, while also calling for increased financial support for volunteer initiatives.

The award winners underscored the importance of promoting the award locally and internationally as a global model for institutionalizing volunteer work and of involving winners in its promotion and networking with supporting institutions to ensure the sustainability of voluntary efforts.

//Petra// AF