She’s a devoted humanitarian who has dedicated countless hours to supporting those in need, and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah‘s latest endeavour is no exception. The Jordanian royal this week attended the launch of a festival organized as part of a wider ongoing campaign to reduce physical violence against children. According to local studies, nine out of 10 children in Jordan experience some form of physical violence from their parents, teachers, or caregivers.
The event, entitled “The Adventures of Looney Balloony,” was created by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) and UNICEF, and was attended by families from around the nation. Held in Ammam on Tuesday, the festival introduced children, parents, and caregivers to tools and skills needed for healthy child development.
Focusing on issues such as communication, patience, and demonstrating love, the festival will be rolled out across other governorates later this year. During her visit, Queen Rania toured an exhibition charting the stories of 30 violence survivors, and spent time chatting with children taking part in the day’s activities. According to NCFA acting secretary general Mohammad Miqdadi, the festival forms part of a three-year strategy aimed at halving the prevalence of physical violence against children by 2021. The event’s activities include panel discussions, story telling and crafts, and free counseling, each which hope to help families understand the negative repercussions of violence.
The festival wasn’t the only initiative Her Majesty helped unveil this week, either. On Monday, Queen Rania officially launched the Edraak K-12 platform, which offers free online courses in Arabic for students from kindergarten to grade 12. “Today, the internet is replete with e-learning resources that students around the world can utilize in conjunction with their core school curricula as means for revision, practice, or learning support. Unfortunately, most of these resources are in English, and hence Jordanian and Arab students are likely to miss out,” HM said at the launch event. “I am positive that the platform will lessen our struggles as parents. All parents must have felt stuck trying to help their children,” the royal added.
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