AMMAN — Thursday marked the
World Creativity and Innovation Day, which falls on April 21 each year.
اضافة اعلان
The occasion is a good time to focus on the National
Center for Innovation (NCI), one of the main innovation-supporting projects of
the
Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST), established in 2018 to
reflect HRH Prince El-Hassan bin Talal’s vision and efforts in putting science
and technology in the service of innovation and creativity,
According to HCST Assistant Secretary-General for
Scientific and Technological Affairs Hussam Khasawneh, NCI is a project
co-funded by the MENA Transition Fund and the government of Jordan under the
supervision of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Creativity, Khasawneh said, is a tendency “to create
or perceive thoughts, choices, or potential outcomes that might solve
problems”, while “innovation is converting a creative idea into something new
or a change made to an existing product, process, or service”.
The most common way of adopting and developing
innovative ideas, Khasawneh said, is through entrepreneurship, through
establishing startups.
HCST’s National Policy and Strategy for Science,
Technology, and Innovation for the years 2021–2025, he added, includes a model
of innovation that combines academia, business, and government to stimulate
economic and social development to achieve a knowledge-based economy in Jordan.
Khasawneh told
Jordan News that by the end of
October 2022, HCST plans to organize and host the Second Union for the
Mediterranean Forum on green innovation and careers for empowering the
Mediterranean youth. The event will “shed light on how to bring education,
skills, and employability to people living in the
Mediterranean region, while
explaining the successful cooperation among the academia, business, and
government in the region, including Jordan”, he said.
According to Khasawneh, “Jordan has an excellent
opportunity to benefit from the demographic transition it goes through and the
high proportion of the working-age population, as well as to address the
growing unemployment rates among young people, by raising their level of
productivity and competitiveness in the local, regional and international
markets.
“In addition, it is essential to develop the youth’s
capabilities and productivity, providing them with skills, experiences, and
knowledge, developing the idea of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship,
and including these concepts in schools’ curricula in the early stages of
education.”
According to Khasawneh, “creativity and innovation
are important in improving the individuals’ economic status, self-employment,
and income and proving them with independence”.
As such, HCST intends to launch a self-employment
initiative in partnership with the Amman Chamber of Industry, to expand the
economic base by matching freelancers, startups, and SMEs, and aligning them
with the needs of the markets, thus contributing to economic and social
stability, said Khasawneh.
He also mentioned the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which, according to him, are “the most ambitious development plan
in mankind’s history as they are a guide to end poverty, safeguard the planet,
and guarantee that all individuals live in prosperity and peace”, saying that
it is vital to strive for green economic growth through innovations and
creativity in all fields to achieve them, as “innovation and sustainability are
two sides of the same coin”.
To accomplish the SDGs and build a comprehensive and
versatile future for the planet, there is need of joint endeavors, he said,
stressing that “creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship are increasingly
seen as the key to future welfare and business success. Innovation incorporates
new services, processes, technologies, and better approaches for utilizing
existing technologies to ensure the economies’ development without jeopardizing
the planet and its resources”.
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