{"id":7505,"date":"2025-05-25T16:14:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T13:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/human-stories\/ahmad-al-qudah-a-young-moderator-and-partner-in-creating-change\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T15:16:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T12:16:39","slug":"ahmad-al-qudah-a-young-moderator-and-partner-in-creating-change","status":"publish","type":"human-stories","link":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/en\/human-stories\/ahmad-al-qudah-a-young-moderator-and-partner-in-creating-change\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Ahmad Al-Qudah: A Young Moderator and Partner in Creating Change&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Ahmad Al-Qudah: A Young Moderator and Partner in Creating Change<\/strong><br\/><br\/>Ahmad Al-Qudah, a young man from Ajloun Governorate, is deeply passionate about community work and active participation in youth-related issues\u2014especially given the challenges facing this sector in rural Jordan. Ahmad observed a noticeable lack of youth involvement in local decision-making, along with the absence of effective dialogue platforms that would allow them to express their opinions and contribute to shaping local policies. This highlighted the need for youth leadership capable of initiating change\u2014something he found through the project <em>\u201cVoices for Democracy: Toward Fair Civic Participation for Rural Youth,\u201d<\/em> implemented in collaboration between the Intermediaries for Change Center and Sawt Ajloun Community Radio.<br\/><br\/>\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f <strong>From Moderator to Influential Dialogue Leader<\/strong> Ahmad was not just a participant in the \u201cCity Halls\u201d sessions\u2014he became a skilled moderator, leading direct dialogues between citizens and municipalities. Through these sessions, he highlighted the importance of youth in shaping local policies, helping to build consensus between citizens and municipal councils on shared concerns. Thanks to his efforts, communication channels between youth and municipal councils in Ajloun were activated, fostering constructive dialogue, boosting public trust in decision-makers, and opening the door for greater youth participation in local decision-making.<br\/><br\/>\ud83d\udcca <strong>Strengthening Youth Dialogue and Building Trust<\/strong> Through the <em>\u201cVoices for Democracy\u201d<\/em> project, Ahmad and his team created real change in how rural youth engage with local authorities. By organizing dialogue meetings, Ahmad helped facilitate the exchange of ideas and present youth proposals in a professional and persuasive manner. The sessions he led became genuine platforms for dialogue among all stakeholders, enhancing youth participation in local communities.<br\/><br\/>\u2728 <strong>Ahmad\u2019s Belief in the Power of Youth<\/strong> Reflecting on his experience, Ahmad says: <em>\u201cWhen young people feel their voices are heard, they become more committed and responsible toward their communities. Active participation is not just a right\u2014it\u2019s a responsibility that fosters hope and strengthens the effectiveness of local communities in addressing their issues.\u201d<\/em> Strategic tools embedded in the <em>\u201cVoices for Democracy\u201d<\/em> project\u2014such as opinion polls, complaint boxes, and live broadcasts of municipal council sessions\u2014were essential in building trust between youth and municipalities, making young people more willing to engage in decision-making.<br\/><br\/>\ud83c\udf31 <strong>Expanding the Circle of Change and Participation<\/strong> Today, Ahmad is working to expand his involvement and build new youth initiatives across Ajloun Governorate, continuing the journey of change he began with <em>\u201cVoices for Democracy.\u201d<\/em> He believes that change is not limited to participation alone\u2014it requires ongoing commitment from youth and serious engagement with local communities to reach sustainable solutions.<br\/><br\/>\ud83c\udf1f <strong>Ahmad\u2019s Story: A Model of Rural Youth Leadership<\/strong> Ahmad Al-Qudah\u2019s story closely mirrors that of his colleague, Niveen Emad Hilal Al-Rabadi. Together, they reflect the spirit of rural youth striving for sustainable change and fair participation in local political life. Through his work in <em>\u201cVoices for Democracy,\u201d<\/em> Ahmad affirms that rural youth have the power to transform reality and achieve equality and justice in local decision-making\u2014when they are given the opportunity and space for dialogue and participation.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6073,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-7505","human-stories","type-human-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/human-stories\/7505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/human-stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/human-stories"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iccjo.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}