On the Ground with the Jordan Education Initiative
11/4/2005

Odeh Mahmud

AMMAN, Jordan — In June 2003, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched an innovative e-learning program to develop and evaluate new technology and business models for connecting schools around the world to the Internet. As part of this effort, WEF joined forces with industry leaders such as Cisco to establish a template that would allow anyone to rapidly implement a comprehensive e-learning effort.

During the same period, Jordan's King Abdullah II announced a bold vision for his country to partner with businesses, non-profit organizations, and other countries to implement an e-learning program called the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI).

Both projects eventually merged. WEF saw in JEI an opportunity to undertake a pilot program in Jordan that would put its template to the test, while Jordan saw in WEF the opportunity to tap into a worldwide network of resources that would help ensure JEI's success. By February 2004, both parties, and their respective partners, had combined their efforts and were already building the necessary infrastructure and deploying technology solutions.

The goals for JEI are ambitious:

1. Deliver a high-quality, engaging interactive education program to Jordan's citizens — children and adults alike
   
   
2. Leverage the benefits of education to foster social and economic development
   
   
3. Establish JEI as a model that can be easily transferred across geographic and cultural boundaries

Jordan offers ideal conditions in which to conduct a pilot digital inclusion project. A relatively small percentage of its population has Internet access and, while the infrastructure is advancing, the overall technology environment mirrors that of other high-growth markets.

More significantly, the new government appointed this past April is committed to leveraging technology to enhance all aspects of its citizens' daily lives. This long-time commitment on the part of Jordan's leaders has resulted in the country posting an impressive 90% literacy rate (86% for women) during the past few years. In addition, Jordan's formalized economic relationships with Europe, the U.S. and Asia, its membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and its liberalized monetary and economic policies have all helped to create an environment in which JEI is succeeding.