2008

In the UK, the median age is roughly 40 years old. In the US, it is 35. In Jordan, it is 23.5. With almost 40 per cent of Jordan’s population under the age of 15, creating employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for its youth is an urgent, constant challenge.

One innovative organisation, Injaz, is meeting this challenge head on. Injaz, which means “achievement” in Arabic, aims to inspire and prepare Jordanian youth to compete in the global economy.

Hello everyone. I’m sorry I can’t be with you, but I’m pleased to join you from Jordan, and support this conference which places caring, kindness, and kids at the core of all it is and all it aims to do.

Someone once told me that those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves. If that is true, then Seattle must be shining bright this morning.

And I can’t think of a better season than Spring time for so many ‘seeds of compassion’ to gather… grow…and take flight on the wind.

Eight years ago, with an eye to our own future and a belief that this could be the moment humanity would begin to redeem itself, we made a promise to the world and to ourselves -- to reduce child mortality… halve poverty… eradicate inequality.                                                        

And from food… to clean water… to immunizations… to education… our progress toward the Millennium Development Goals has given hundreds of millions of people a chance to live a better life. 

"Over 1000 participants today. Representation of all continents. Membership of more than 1500 companies. 1750 GRI reports expected to be written this year. Endorsements from the G8 and the UN. And 80 per cent of Business Week’s top 15 global brands, all using GRI guidelines.
 
Hmm. It seems predictions that sustainability reporting would only ever be a niche activity have proven… unsustainable! Ernst, you must be doing something right!
 

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – Santiago) While in Chile, Monday, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah took time to highlight the country’s progressive early childhood programs by visiting the Javiera Carrera kindergarten, an Integra Foundation supported school that caters to the underprivileged community. Her Majesty was joined by Princess Noor Hamzah, Chilean Minister of Education Monica Jimenez and the National and Regional Directors of the Integra Foundation, Loreto Amunategui and Marcela Fontecilla.

Rania Yasin was born on August 31, 1970, in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. A doctor's daughter, she grew up in a comfortable home on the West Bank alongside her two siblings. She received a thoroughly Western education, first at the New English School in Kuwait City and then at the American University in Cairo, where she graduated with a business degree.

(Oprah.com) -- A businesswoman, a mother of four, an international fashion icon, a woman committed to making the world a better place for women and children -- Queen Rania of Jordan is truly changing the world.

Queen Rania says cultural dialogue, education and increased opportunities are ways to combat terrorism.

Rania Al-Yassin was born in Kuwait. Shortly after Saddam Hussein invaded that country in 1990, her family fled and settled in Jordan. After graduating from business school, Rania began working her way up the corporate ladder.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Beautiful and intelligent, and balancing a modern outlook with a deep concern for her people, Jordan's Queen Rania seems in many ways to represent the optimistic face of the Middle East's future.

Since she entered the spotlight after she married then Prince Abdullah in 1993, she has become known for her philanthropic work, pushing for better educational facilities for Jordan's school children and supporting efforts to empower women.

It's not every day that success stories echo out of Iraq into the halls of power, but Madeeha Hasan Odhaib defies the norm. Armed with her sewing machine, unflinching stoicism and determination, Madeeha, 37, is mending the fabric of Iraq.

(Royal Hashemite Court – Media & Communication Directorate – Washington, D.C.) - At a lunch today with Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah and His Highness Prince Zeid Raad, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), Charles Boustany (R-LA), Brian Baird (D-WA) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) announced the formation of the Congressional Friends of Jordan Caucus.