The movie showing in Jordan will have subtitles in Arabic.
Many young people in Europe and the Middle East find that sports and arts is an alternative way to express and challenge themselves. The Danish contribution to the EU Film festival deals with the themes of intercultural dialogue and youth expression through sports; “Fighter” is about a young Turkish-Danish girl who is not only fighting to improve her Kung Fu skills, but also struggling to cope with the intercultural complications and expectations of society, family and friends as she creates her own identity.
The Danish Embassy and MS Action Aid would like to invite you to participate in two events together with the leading actress from the movie, Semra Turan, where you will have the opportunity to debate and experience different ways of self expression in company of young engaged athletes and artists from Denmark and Jordan:
The 5th of November in Amman at King Hussein Cultural Centre at 6pm: A debate about ways and limitations of youth expression with engaged young athletes and artists from Denmark and Amman, including the leading actress. Movie starts at 8 pm.
The 6th of November in Amman at Al-Hussein Cultural Centre at 5pm: You will have another chance to view the movie “Fighter”.
The 7th of November in Zarqa at King Abdallah Cultural Centre at 3pm: Engaged young athletes and artists from Denmark, Amman and Zarqa will perform, share and debate different ways of self expression through sports and arts. The screening of the movie will take place at 6pm and be followed by a joint discussion with the audience.
The Berkman Centre and Harward Law School is conducting a study on Intenet and Democracy. As part of that study a mapping of blogs in the Arab World has recently been published on this link.
On Jordan the report says:
This cluster contains mainly Jordanians, but also some Palestinians. It has the highest proportion of women in the Levantine/English Bridge group. Female bloggers comprise 40.2%, 30.2%, and 33% of the Jordanian, Lebanese, and English Bridge clusters, respectively. Women’s issues are more widely talked about here than any other cluster (54.2% vs. 19.1% across the map). Jordanian bloggers are less critical of domestic leaders than Lebanese (29.2% vs. 51.6%), probably reflecting Lebanon’s more democratic system. Bloggers in this cluster use the word ‘Palestine’ more frequently than any other cluster, and ‘Nakba’ (1948 Palestinian exodus) more frequently than all but the Egyptian Religious cluster.
One of the first tasks for a new incoming American administration is to get the right person for the right job. The first position as Chief of Staff in the White House is taken (not without raising suspicion in some circles in this region) – so no need to apply for that. But on the Transition Project homepage the President-elect is calling for applications from interested people for the 7000+ jobs to be filled. Apparently according to the electronic application form you don’t have to be American citizen, so why not give it a try if you feel you have something to contribute?
The transition homepage is a treasure chest of information. It is also very instructive in explaining the functioning of this important part of the American democracy. The “Survivor’s Guide” for potential nominees in the new administration gives an in-depth description of the do’s and dont’s for potential newcomers to Washington.
The really interesting part is the description of the intense scrutiny many nominees are subjected to in order to make sure that that their personal integrity and moral habitus is in order. Conflict of interest, mishaps in their past and their respect of the division of power between the Executive and the Legislative is scrutinised to the highest degree. Makes one wonder how many government officials would be able to pass such a test in other countries? I think the transparency this process enforces in the Executive Branch is something a lot of countries should be inspired by.
I recommend reading the survival guide for the funny and enlightening real life anecdotes and for its very illustrative example of how to uproot corruption before it takes place. For those applying for jobs in the Obama-administration you might want to pay extra attention to the relocation chapter and the specific list of what public employees are entitled to and not (it is not much – you have to be devoted to be a public servant).
Posted by Thomas Lund-Sørensen 
Posted by Thomas Lund-Sørensen 
Posted by Thomas Lund-Sørensen 
