Queen Rania Marks Her Birthday

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – Amman) - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah celebrates her birthday on Sunday, August 31, marking another year spent in steadfast service to Jordan and its people.

Throughout her public life, Queen Rania has strived to contribute to the achievement of His Majesty King Abdullah II’s royal vision, seeking to bolster Jordan’s global and regional role as a platform for humanitarianism, sustainable development, and peace. Her Majesty channels these efforts through her many local initiatives, as well as her international advocacy endeavors.

In 2013, Her Majesty established the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF), which works to identify and address educational gaps in Jordan and the region. She has also spearheaded a number of educational initiatives, including Edraak, the first non-profit Arabic massive open online course platform; the Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA), which promotes teacher training; Madrasati, which oversees the renovation of public schools in Jordan and occupied East Jerusalem; and the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education, which honors the efforts of exemplary educators across the kingdom

The Queen is also the founder of Al-Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans, which supports the education and training of orphans over the age of 18, as well as the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA), which empowers and supports local families through various social development programs. Additionally, she is the chair of the Jordan River Foundation (JRF), a non-profit committed to community empowerment and child safety.

A mother of four and grandmother of two, Queen Rania’s longstanding commitment to children and youth has remained at the forefront of her activities. In her meetings over the past year with Jordan’s students and youth entrepreneurs, the Queen encouraged young people to remain rooted in Jordanian values, and to apply those principles to a world increasingly shaped by emerging technologies such as AI.    

“It has never been easier to create and share content that spreads divisiveness and hatred, while eroding our capacity for empathy and compassion,” Her Majesty told a group of accomplished young Jordanians hosted at Al Husseiniya Palace in March.  “What sets us apart is how well we treat each other. Even as we strive for change and advancement, we continue to hold on to our longstanding principles.”

Meanwhile, the Queen also remained close to her fellow countrywomen, meeting frequently with Jordanian women from all walks of life.  Throughout the year, she heard from women civil society leaders, entrepreneurs, businesswomen, military members, and security agency personnel, among others.

On the global front, Queen Rania repeatedly spoke out against the suffering of children in warzones, highlighting in particular the unprecedented violence that Israel has inflicted against Palestinian children in Gaza. In her international engagements and media interviews, the Queen consistently stressed that all children are equally entitled to protection, and called for the universal application of human and child rights.

“Today, one in six children on Earth live in areas affected by conflict. Every day, dozens of them are killed or maimed,” the Queen explained in February while participating in the World Summit on Children's Rights, hosted by the late Pope Francis.

Speaking at the Vatican, she reiterated her call for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza, and condemned “a status quo that deems some children's suffering acceptable, based on their name, faith, or the land of their birth.”

Last year, at a high-level international event hosted by Save the Children in New York, the Queen noted that the world’s adults are failing an entire generation of Palestinian children, whose cries for help have gone unanswered.

“Some people would prefer not to think about the specifics of Palestinian children’s suffering. They’d rather hide behind the maxim that this conflict is too complicated, and just move on” she said. “But put politics aside. A child is a child, and all children deserve to be protected. There is nothing complicated about that.”

Her Majesty has also decried the selective application of international law, cautioning that the “dehumanizing” double standards employed to justify Israel’s actions have ushered in a new era of global disorder in which no one is truly safe.

“The people of the world deserve a global system they can trust, free of prejudice, moral loopholes, and deadly blind spots,” she said, during the 50th edition of the European House – Ambrosetti (TEHA) Forum in Cernobbio, Italy. “And trust in that system has become intrinsically tied to the fate of the Palestinian people.”