Prof. Anis Khasawneh, Vice President of Yarmouk University for Humanities and Administrative Affairs, patronized the graduation ceremony of the second batch of participants in the 2019 Psychosocial Support Project, which is executed by the Refugees, Displaced Persons, and Forced Migration Studies Ceneter at Yarmouk University with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). In his talk, Al-Khasawneh thanked the German Agency of the International Cooperation for its support to such a project, which aims at providing psychosocial support services in the context of forced migration. He mentioned that the Agency tries to enhance the psychosocial competencies of several Jordanian and Syrian university graduates and prepare them to provide psychosocial support services for refugees, migrants, and some Jordanians. He then praised the methodology followed in the course to integrating the theoretical inputs with practical exercises. Such a methodology, he stated, relies on engaging participants in two-week field activities of psychological support services in Jordan, which allows them to apply the acquired knowledge wherever necessary.
With regards to the tremendous events taking place in the Arabic region, Al-Khasawneh called on the participants to work hard with perseverance and excellence, reflect experiences on personal behavior, help the members of the community through spreading knowledge, and help the community overcome the traumas and psychological pressures resulting from crises and conflicts.
The Director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons, and Forced Migration Studies Ceneter, Dr. Anas Subuh stated that the Center is concerned with conducting studies and researches in the political, economic, social, and health aspects of the many asylum-oriented issues that concern Jordan as well as the Arab world. He added that the center provides researchers and officials with the necessary data to serve policy and decision-makers in the governmental and international organizations. Dr. Anas then explained that the project included a course for sixteen participants, which lasted for four weeks. Through the course, the participants were trained on providing psychosocial support services to the individual, family, and community. He also said that the participants learned how to communicate effectively and were introduced to the smart technologies used in the application of psychological support services.
In return, Dr. Christine Mueller, the Director of Projects at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), emphasized the Agency's support of Yarmouk University for many years. Then she said that such a project that provides participants with the skills and knowledge necessary for providing psychological support to community members is the fruitful outcome of the cooperation between GIZ and Yarmouk. However, she explained that the project targets the social side of the issue rather than the therapeutic one because the psychological pressure, feelings of sadness, and anger can be handled with the appropriate support through effective communication skills and blending refugees into communities.
In his turn, Muhannad Al Essa talked about his interesting experience during the course by pointing out the various skills he acquired. He stated that the training course expanded his perception and refined his skills in the art of dealing with others and providing them with the social and psychological support. He then expressed his gratitude for Yarmouk University as well as GIZ for holding such a session and called for increasing the number of participants in any coming courses.
At the end of the ceremony, which was attended by several officials of the Center for Refugees and some faculty members, Prof. Al-Khasawneh handed certificates to the participants.
