We are All Jordan

A group of 750 Jordanians representing the official sector, grassroots, youth and civil society institutions set 16 national priorities from among 30 topics defined after His Majesty held a series of field visits and meetings with personalities representing various political and intellectual spectra and opinion leaders in the Jordanian society, during which the challenges facing Jordan were discussed.

In his orientation speech at the Dead Sea, King Abdullah was clear in stating that “What is required is to set the national priorities which Jordanians aspire to achieve in the coming stage, a matter which necessitates drawing up and action plan to implement on the ground”.

The 16 priorities defined in the meeting served as the basis of debates and brainstorming sessions among participants in the forum, which convened on 26 July 2006 to produce the “We Are All Jordan” document.

These priorities, which were listed in order of their importance as voted by participants, included: loyalty and belonging, sovereignty of the state, protection of national interests, national security, entrenching good governance, independence and integrity of the judiciary, combating poverty, safeguarding human rights, fighting terrorism and takfiri ideology, developing education, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, financial and fiscal stability, medical care and universal health insurance, developing partisan life, attracting investment and Iraq’s unity and sovereignty.  

Themes of "We are All Jordan" document

The priorities discussed were classified under six themes:

• Consolidating the internal front: Topics of discussion included loyalty and citizenship, sovereignty of the state, protection of national interests and combating terrorism and takfiri ideology
• Political reforms: entrenching the principles of good governance, developing partisan action and safeguarding human rights
• Economic reforms: financial and fiscal stability and investment attraction
• Social safety: combating poverty, education development and health care
• Regional challenges: national security and Iraq's unity and sovereignty
• Palestinian cause: final-status issues and Jordan's position on the future of Palestine

After the discussion of all the six themes, the opinions and points of view were consolidated into "We Are All Jordan" document and action plan, whose implementation was assigned to the government, Parliament, judiciary, media, political parties and civil society institutions to build on Jordan's previous achievements.

We Are All Jordan Commission was established as a Royal advisory committee that serves as a link between the different segments of society, tasked with working out a mechanism for implementation and setting standards and benchmarks to measure achievement. At the same time, it serves as an incubator of ideas and helps formulate the concepts necessary to overcome internal and external challenges.

In response to that, the government prepared an executive program for "We Are All Jordan" initiative, entailing policies, programs and projects coupled with a timeframe and cost breakdown, and, subsequently, made the required allocations to implement them in the state budget, on an annual basis.

Regarding the pieces of legislation proposed during the forum, new laws were enacted governing municipalities, political parties, the National Center for Human Rights and access to information.

In the field of government accountability and anti-corruption, laws on money laundry, the Anti-Corruption Commission and financial disclosure for government officials and public servants also went into effect.

In regards to education, higher education and scientific research, a law on higher education institutions accreditation was enacted to ensure a good quality of higher education, while the Patents Law was modified.