The welfare of all Jordanians continues to feature high on Jordan Telecom Group’s agenda for social responsibility. The Group continues to reach out wherever need lies or arises, promptly and timely. It also continues to respond and embrace immediate requirements for assistance throughout the year, as events unfold.

In moving to become the corporate social responsibility arm of Jordan Telecom Group, Jordan Telecom Group Foundation reassessed its policies, mandate and criteria when selecting just causes for support. Putting in place a newly developed info kit, the Foundation readied to partner with NGOs working in the Kingdom to sponsor projects that aim at a better life for all Jordanians.

Jordan Telecom Group Foundation spearheaded many initiatives such as extending immediate financial assistance to the families of Aqaba who were most affected by the heavy flooding in the governorate in early 2006. The Foundation teamed up with the Aqaba Governorate who identified the families eligible to immediate assistance.

Direct and spontaneous input was also manifested through Jordan Telecom Group’s mobile business unit, MobileCom, in its contribution towards Operation Smile, which seeks to improve the quality of life for children who suffer from facial deformities.    

MobileCom further supported the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), by renewing its long-term support agreement for the fifth year running during which they hosted a recreational event for around 400 children from different orphanages across the Kingdom.

Jordan Telecom Group initiated a joint donation campaign with the Red Crescent to raise funds to back the Lebanese people in the summer 2006 crisis that befell Lebanon. MobileCom also contributed with a JD 10 free credit for all its subscribers in Lebanon to facilitate their communication needs and help them stay in contact with their families and loved ones, at a time when contacts and communications were battered and severed. 

Input in the cultural arena witnessed the Group’s involvement in Opera Abu Hassan, which linked Jordanian heritage with modern cultures through music. The event took place at the Southern Amphitheatre, Jerash and was held in cooperation with Jordan Telecom Group Foundation, the French Embassy and the French Cultural Center. The operatic play performed jointly by Jordanian, European and Lebanese artists brought to life the heritage of Arab Civilization with the stories of One Thousand and One Nights.

Part of its annual community involvement during the Holy month of Ramadan, Jordan Telecom Group and France Telecom Group, in partnership with Tkiyyet Um Aliinitiative set out to fight hunger worked to provide for the needy. Tents were set in three regions in the Kingdom offering iftar meals to needy individuals, families and travelers. The relationship with Tkiyyet Um Ali moved on to facilitate Zakat Al Fitr payments by calling 090099111 from any fixed or MobileCom line.

The elderly were also granted due attention by the Foundation, with a visit paid by the Foundation’s Volunteers Club to the Golden Age Home for the Elderlyand a staged play -Lillah ya Muhsineen- created to put a smile on the faces of the elderly residents. Furthermore, liver patients, especially those deprived of health insurance, received assistance through Friends of the Liver Patients Societyfrom a fundraising luncheon and lecture entitled ‘Lifestyle and Liver Disease’, under the Patronage of HRH Princess Rym Ali. The raised funds helped in buying Hepatitis B vaccine to be distributed for free to susceptible family members, particularly newborns.

Youth continue to merit holding a focal attention point in the Group’s sponsorship activities acknowledging that 60% of the Jordanian society is below the age of twenty-one. The Group leveraged its sports activities with an agreement was reached with the Jordan Basketball Federation, to take in a wider range of high school, university and professional tournaments as well as a national talent scout initiative. This agreement sitting alongside a renewed relationship with the Jordan Youth Football Club, gave today’s youth an outlet for their pent up energies after long hours spent in the classroom.

Jordan Telecom Group Foundation’s internet bus and tent continued to roam the Kingdom’s governorates spreading internet culture and offering training services to those who needed it and were unable to access it. Students and teachers in remote areas were able to experience the technology at their doorstep, thus aiding their first and early steps into the race and spin of technology. Forty four cities, towns and villages across the Kingdom were exposed to this endeavor and 20,554 citizens benefited from the Foundation’s internet bus and tent tour.

MobileCom, the mobile business unit, continued to work closely with the Ministry of Education and Intel, on an ambitious program set out to encourage research and development in schools across the Kingdom. Competitions for young scientists were launched with fairs to select a group of innovative students to take part in the final stages of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF)held in Indiana, USA. The returning students were recognized in a ceremony held under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah. In a further step that encourages younger children to express themselves through creative and innovative development, MobileCom sponsored the Wire Car Exhibition. Children were encouraged to design toy cars using wires and available products found in many small towns and villages across the Kingdom. The exhibition was held under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and exhibited at the Royal Automobile Museum.

In the sponsorship arena, the Group invested in business and knowledge sharing forums as the golden sponsor of the Jordan ICT Forumheld under the Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II in November and was also a sponsor of the Media and Telecommunications Convergence Conference. Both well-attended gatherings looked to the future of communications tackling issues facing the sector within the region and encouraging open and frank discussion. Jordan Telecom Group Foundation also supported as well the World Family Summit +2, held under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah at the Dead Sea as a follow-up on the Development Goals of the new millennium aimed at reducing poverty, hunger and enhancing learning. The Summit was organized and attended by NCFA, WFO and UNDESA.

Jordan Telecom Group’s interaction with the civic society shall continue to highlight its commitment to the social, economic and technological fabrics of Jordan. Direct input and careful attention will continue to drive the Jordan Telecom Group to fulfill its mission of promoting social responsibility, community involvement, and sustained development targeting all segments of the society across the Kingdom.