Under the patronage of the City Manager at the Amman Municipality, Eng. Ahmed Malkawi, on behalf of the Mayor of Amman, the results of the "Jabal Amman: Past, Present, and Future" competition within the "Hope is a Picture that’s Worth a Thousand Words" project were announced by the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), in cooperation with the Jabal Amman Future Committee, on Monday, December 23, 2024, in which the winner was the group that worked on the urban planning dimension.

During the period of the project, 19 young men and women were selected, based on technical and scientific criteria, to participate in dialogue sessions that sought to inspire them in the photography competition, which included the following themes: urban planning, social and cultural fabric, environment, tourism, and economy, while they were divided into five work groups, each focusing on one of these themes, documenting the past and present of  Jabal Amman and envisioning its future with the help of artificial intelligence through their lenses and presentations. A Jabal Amman Development Policy Brief will also be produced in accordance with the vision of the youth, and subsequently shared with decision-makers and stakeholders.

The  Chairman of ARDD’s Board of Trustees and Professor of Political Science at the University of Jordan, Prof. Dr. Zaid Al-Ayadat, spoke about the interconnectedness of the trilogy of art, urban planning, and community participation, considering that art is an expression of the cultural vessel from which we all exude, a civilized message, and a cultural expression. Hence, hope becomes the title of this initiative, while urbanization, as Ibn Khaldun put it, is a construction of the place so that the place becomes an incubation environment for the interactions, ideas, and aspirations of its residents. Ayadat pointed out that the Municipality of Amman is a pioneer in the field of Urbanism and urban planning, stressing in the same context that the issue of city planning, management, and restructuring of its neighborhoods is a cultural expression of local community participation.

Nadine Al-Khoury, Project Manager at ARDD, explained that this initiative comes with the support of the Swiss Embassy in Jordan, and aims to highlight the role of art as an effective tool in promoting civic engagement, especially among youth. Through various tools of artistic expression –such as photography, murals, and public performances– young people can forge deeper connections with their communities, encourage dialogue within them, and promote social change.

Al-Khouri praised the partnership with the Municipality of Amman and its support for these efforts at the administrative and technical levels, pointing out that ARDD aims through this cooperation "to make our participatory development initiative a pioneering model for participatory planning in the city of Amman."

The closing session of the initiative included a presentation of the main outcomes of the policy brief, under the title: "A Shared Vision: Activating Arts and Culture to Enhance Community Participation and Ownership of Civic Spaces", presenting the vision of the youth and participating experts for the future of Jabal Amman, as they stressed in their recommendations the need to enhance youth capabilities and raise awareness about the concepts of civic participation, leadership, urban planning, and sustainability, in addition to integrating cultural heritage into urban development plans in a participatory manner with the community, supporting youth initiatives and facilitating their implementation, public-private cooperation to support sustainability and community and cultural tourism, financing and supporting projects, and building on initiatives like the Jabal Amman initiative to expand their scope.

Finally,  certificates of honor were handed over to the participants in the initiative, where the participation of young men and women was subject to evaluation criteria by a specialized committee, while these criteria included  the relevance of the images to the subject of the competition, clarity of vision, artistic and technical quality, originality and creativity, and others.