Queen Rania of Jordan

Education

Queen Rania has launched and championed several initiatives in education and learning. She has stated that an essential aspect of education is to equip young people with the necessary skills to perform well in the workplace.^[13] She has said that education is a tool for individuals to empower themselves, allows the poor to improve their lives, and is an investment Jordan makes to protect its people from being exploited and falling victim to extremist ideology.^[10]

In July 2005, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the King and Queen launched an annual teachers' award, the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education.^[14][15]

The Queen is chairperson of Jordan's first interactive children's museum, which opened in May 2007.^[16][17] In April 2008, the Queen launched "Madrasati" ("My School"), a public-private initiative aimed at refurbishing 500 of Jordan's public schools over a five-year period.^[18] Rania also established The Queen Rania Al Abdullah Center for Educational Technology on 6 June 2001, aiming to use modern technology to serve and develop education in Jordan.^[19]

The Queen Rania Teacher Academy, which was launched in June 2009, provides professional development programs for current and new teachers in partnership with the Ministry of Education. The Queen Rania Scholarship Program^[20] partners with several universities from around the world to support scholarships and training for Jordanian students and workers in management, marketing, design, business administration, psychology, engineering, law, and other fields.^[20][21]

Community and youth empowerment

Queen Rania's first venture was the establishment of the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) in 1995.^[22]

The Jordan River Children Program (JRCP) was developed by Rania to place children's welfare above political agendas and cultural taboos.^[23] This led to the launch, in 1998, of JRF's Child Safety Program, which addresses the immediate needs of children at risk from abuse and initiated a long-term campaign to increase public awareness about violence against children. The deaths of two children in Amman as a result of child abuse in early 2009 led Rania to call for an emergency meeting of government and non-government (including JRF) stakeholders to discuss where the system was failing.^[24]

In 2009, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her husband's accession to the throne, Rania launched a community champion award (Ahel Al Himmeh) to highlight the accomplishments of groups and individuals who have helped their local communities.^[25] Rania initiated the Al-Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans in 2003.^[26]

In her capacity as regional ambassador of INJAZ Al-Arab, Rania has taught classes and engaged in dialogue with young people in other countries; she also launched INJAZ Al-Arab's presence elsewhere in the Arab world.^[27] She chaired a discussion with entrepreneurs in celebration of INJAZ Al-Arab's 10th anniversary, showcasing alumni's success stories^[28] At the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, she launched the "Empowering One Million Arab Youth by 2018" campaign, which was conceived by INJAZ Arabia.^[29]

Health

In 2005, Rania established the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS) to educate parents and children about the basics of nutrition and hygiene, the benefits of exercise, the harms of smoking, and other areas related to health.^[30]

In 2011, the first specialized medical building for children was built in Jordan, Queen Rania Children's Hospital, established to improve the medical service for Jordanian children. The hospital provides for the care of children, especially complex medical cases including organ transplants and endoscopic operations.^[12]

Global education

In November 2000, in recognition of her commitment to the cause of children and youth, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) invited Rania to join its Global Leadership Initiative.^[31] In early 2002 Rania joined the board of directors of the International Youth Foundation, based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.^[32] In January 2007, Rania was named UNICEF's first Eminent Advocate for Children.^[33] In August 2009, Rania became Honorary Global Chair of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI).^[34]

As a longtime supporter of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE),^[35] Rania met with children and inspirational women in South Africa, both in the cities of Johannesburg and Soweto, in March 2009.^[36] One of the stories in the book, "Maha of the Mountains", was contributed by Rania.^[37][38]

During her April 2009 US trip, Rania joined leading education advocates Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Counsellor to the Secretary of the Treasury Gene Sperling to launch "The Big Read" as part of Global Campaign for Education's global action week calling for quality basic education for all children.^[39] She was also hosted by first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, during that same trip.^[40]

On 20 August 2009, Rania co-founded and led the launch of the "1GOAL: Education for All" campaign alongside Gary Lineker, and with the help of top international footballers at Wembley Stadium, London.^[41] On 6 October 2009, Rania was joined by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK, the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and other heads of state, for the Global Launch of 1GOAL, which took place across six locations worldwide.^[42][43]

Cross-cultural dialogue

Rania has also been particularly vocal about the importance of cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue to foster greater understanding, tolerance and acceptance across the world.^[44] She has used her status to correct what she sees as misconceptions in the West about the Arab world.^[45]

Rania has played a significant role in reaching out to the global community to foster values of tolerance and acceptance, and increase cross-cultural dialogue. For example, regionally and internationally, Rania has campaigned for a greater understanding between cultures in such high-profile forums as the Jeddah Economic Forum,^[46] Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University,^[47] and the Skoll Foundation^[48] in the UK. She has also made public appearances, including a half-hour television interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 17 May 2006, where she spoke about misconceptions about Islam and especially women in Islam.^[49][50][51]

In September 2006, Rania also joined the United Nations Foundation board of directors.^[52] The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach.^[53]

Microfinance

In September 2003, Rania accepted an invitation to join the board of directors of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA).^[54]

An emissary for the United Nations' International Year of Microcredit in 2005, Rania's belief in microfinance and her partnership with FINCA^[54] has generated more Jordanian micro-businesses, with the official opening of FINCA Jordan in February 2008.^[55]

Environment

In October 2020, Rania was named as a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, an initiative of Prince William to find solutions to environmental issues.^[56]

YouTube

Rania has used YouTube, stated as a way to promote intercultural dialogue by calling on young people around the world to engage in a global dialogue to dismantle stereotypes of Muslims and the Arab world.^[58] On 30 March 2008, Rania launched her own YouTube channel, initially to invite viewers to give their opinions of the Middle East and talk about stereotypes they may have of Arabs and Muslims.^[59] Between 30 March and 12 August (International Youth Day), Rania posted videos on YouTube in which she asked people to send her their questions about Islam and the Arab world.^[60] She provided responses to those questions and explained her view of the truth about various Arab and Muslim stereotypes. Over five months she posted videos on subjects that included honour killings, terrorism and the rights of Arab women.^[61] International personalities such as Dean Obeidallah,^[62] Maz Jobrani,^[63] and YouTube star Mia Rose^[64] also contributed videos to the campaign.

In 2008, Rania participated in YouTube's In My Name^[65] campaign. She appeared alongside The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am in the video, "End Poverty – Be the Generation,"^[66] which urged world leaders to keep the promises they made in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit.

Twitter

To coincide with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Jordan on 8 May 2009, Rania started using the microblogging website Twitter with the username @QueenRania.^[67] On the occasion of the World Economic Forum held at the Dead Sea in Jordan, June 2009, she conducted her first Twitter interview, answering five questions from the general public via her Twitter account.^[68]