Salti Soraya
Organization: INJAZ Al Arab - JA Wordwide
Year Founded: 2001
Country: Jordan
Website: www.ja.org
Geographic Area of Impact: .
Model: Leveraged Non-Profit
Focus: Children and Youth,Education.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Jordan, 2006 Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum The Innovation INJAZ, or “achievement” in Arabic, uses hands-on approaches to help young people understand the role of economics in their lives. In partnership with business and educators, INJAZ expands the experience and aspirations of students – from one based on memorization and limited career choices as civil servants or company employees – to one that includes problem-solving, innovative thinking, analysis and involves leading and participating in entrepreneurial ventures that promote employment and economic advancement. INJAZ reaches approximately 100,000 students per year in the Arab world (65,000 in Jordan). Through age-appropriate curricula, INJAZ programs begin at the elementary school level, teaching children how they can have an impact on the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers. INJAZ programs continue through the middle and high school years, preparing students for future economic and workforce issues they will face. Background In the Arab region, 60 percent of the entire population is 20 years old or less. They are anxious to contribute to building more stable, prosperous and peaceful societies. But there is also trouble and tension among Arab youth. Reliable polling evidence confirms that the majority of them want to emigrate. Unemployment rates among them are the highest in the world, and still rising in many cases. The average for the Arab states is nearly 25 percent, according to UN data, and reaches 40 percent in some countries. Amidst a widespread, often serious Arab quest for reform and change towards better governance, perhaps the most important and urgent issue is to give youth opportunities to share in shaping social, economic and political change. It is in this context that INJAZ has set out to lay the groundwork for providing those opportunities to create a vibrant, dynamic and entrepreneurial region. Strategy INJAZ is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. Adapting the model of Junior Achievement and applying it to the Arab world, INJAZ mobilizes the business community to volunteer as consultants and share their know-how and experience with students across all age levels. The majority of INJAZ classes occur in public schools although in some countries including Palestine and Lebanon, about 30% of the classes are also conducted in private schools. The size of the class varies slightly, but 40 is the average. Consultants come from all levels of the hierarchy within their organizations, from entry-level positions to management, with an even split between men and women. In most countries, no formal teacher training is conducted as consultants/volunteers are the ones presenting INJAZ in the classrooms. The consultants get formal training in all countries. The training is usually conducted by INJAZ staff in INJAZ offices. Training is followed up with in-class observations and ratings of training effectiveness. Coaching follows to those consultants who do not do as well as desired. INJAZ cuts across all three levels of the educational system: Middle Grade Programs teach the basic concepts of business and economics and develop communication skills that are essential to success in the business world. High School Programs help students make informed, intelligent decisions about their future, and foster skills that will be useful in the business world. Modules include personal life planning, Enterprise in Action, leadership, communication skills, business ethics, and the entrepreneurial Master Class. Students learn to write a CV and also create and liquidate a company, giving them a taste of what awaits them outside the campus gates after graduation. INJAZ assesses the impact of its strategy through pre- and post-semester assessments with students, parents, teachers and corporate volunteers. This system of evaluation has provided feedback on the benefits for all INJAZ participants and also has shed light on the challenges that remain, which are the following three: INJAZ needs to offer more classes. To do so, it must recruit more volunteers, which is difficult particularly for rural areas due to few established businesses in these areas. Where such volunteers are identified, INJAZ needs to mobilize additional resources to provide adequate training, materials and other costs associated with expansion. Finding capital is a challenge in places where social investment is not historically part of the culture. A second challenge is the limited time allocated by schools to INJAZ sessions – 45 minutes is too short to cover many of the concepts and activities. Thirdly, there is a stark contrast between INJAZ approaches to thinking and problem solving and those used by the traditional curriculum. Yet students spend the majority of their time in the traditional system, giving them little opportunity to reinforce new thinking skills. To improve implementation, INJAZ must involve teachers within its modules. The Entrepreneur With degrees in Economics and Accounting and two years in the Kellogg Recanati International Executive MBA program of Northwestern University, Soraya Salti went on to apply renowned Harvard economist Michael Porter’s model for competitiveness to Jordan. But in so doing, she was confronted with the reality of the region’s greatest challenge for economic development – the need to cultivate a new way of thinking about the future. She set her sights on transforming possibilities for Arab youth, beginning with Jordan, to encourage them to develop a passion for curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurship whilst nurturing a commitment to their own roots as well as a respect for others. The mother of a two year old daughter travels with several generations in her family. Her mother edits her proposals while her grandmother entertains her daughter, as she takes INJAZ to more countries in the region.
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