Al-Nabulsi emphasized that supporting youth and empowering them to develop their entrepreneurial ideas represents a key pillar in the Aqaba Authority's efforts to enhance the entrepreneurship and innovation environment, pointing to the importance of partnerships with the private sector and supporting institutions in providing practical programs that meet the needs of youth and help them transition from the idea stage to the project stage.
In turn, the Director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Directorate at the Authority, Rima Al-Tabaa, said that the program provided participants with a practical path to develop their ideas through training, mentoring, and networking with supporting entities.
She confirmed that achieving 23 incubation opportunities and the submission of 50 applications by participants to incubators and support institutions reflects the importance of providing qualitative programs that offer youth practical tools to develop their projects, stressing the Authority's keenness to expand partnerships supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem and provide greater opportunities for youth in Aqaba.
For her part, Project Coordinator at "Wasel" company, Amal Obeidat, said that the program accompanies youth in developing their ideas and transforming them into applicable projects, and connects them with supporting entities.
The program saw the submission of 237 applications for participation, with females accounting for 55.8 percent and males for 44.2 percent, from which 20 young men and women were selected to join the course, all of whom completed the preparation of business models for their projects.
On the other hand, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Directorate at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, through the Youth Database, and in cooperation with the Royal Film Commission – Aqaba Film Center, organized a youth meeting titled "Youth and Cinema.. New Tales from Aqaba," to enhance the role of youth in visual content creation and contribute to documenting the city's identity and stories through creative methods.
The meeting witnessed an interactive dialogue on filmmaking, a review of the opportunities and programs available to youth in the fields of production and creative content, in addition to an experience simulating the stages of film production from idea development to screening on screen.
During the meeting, the launch of a short video production competition via social media platforms was announced, supported by the Aqaba Authority, to encourage youth to produce content that reflects the beauty of Aqaba and its cultural and social diversity, and highlights its stories from an innovative youth perspective, within the framework of efforts to empower youth and support creative talents.
