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On October 29th, 2009 Queen Noor of Jordan attended the Common Ground Awards at the Canadian Embassy, in Washington DC (USA). The ceremony started with a reception where guests could enjoy listening sounds of gypsy jazz.

After Susan Collin Marks, co-founder of Search for Common Ground, and Queen Noor, chair of the King Hussein Foundation, presented the 2009 Common Ground Awards to CeaseFire, Luma Mufleh and the Fugees Family, Karen Armstrong, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, Congressmen John Lewis and Elwin Wilson, Playing for Change, Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad.

The Common Grounds Awards has been presented annually since 1998 by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) to honor people who have made significant contributions to accomplishments in conflict resolution and peace building.

To see more pictures click here.

salma Jordanian Royals Awards, Queen Noor, United States of America

Five months ago Her Majesty Queen Rania visited two schools in Jerash Governorate that were suffering from serious infrastructure problems such as broken windows, crumbling walls, peeling paintwork, unpaved terrain, inadequate sanitary facilities and poor lighting.

Her visit to the same two schools on Wednesday 4 November 2009 was to check on the completed renovation work. Queen Rania saw noticeable changes for the better. Queen Rania visited classrooms that were completed the renovations and listened to school girls talking about the change their school went through.

dazzling Jordanian Royals Education, Queen Rania

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Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Amman on Tuesday for two-day official visit to Jordan upon the invitation of His Majesty King Abdullah II. Nazarbayev was welcomed by King Abdullah at Royal Offices at the King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque in Amman.

At the meeting the two leaders discussed about ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries. They also touched on efforts to relaunch peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

On Tuesday evening King and President attended a concert of Kazakh music at King Hussein bin Talal Convention Centre in the Dead Sea. They also opened the exhibition of Kazakh ancient jewelleries and souvenirs was organized within Kazakh Cultural Days in Jordan.

That night King Abdullah hosted a dinner banquet in honour of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

On day 2 the President Nazarbayev visited the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau Industrial Park (KADDB).

It is the second visit of Nazarbayev to Jordan. The first one was in November 2006.

salma Jordanian Royals Abdullah II, Kazakhstan, Official Visit, President Nazarbayev

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Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein presented on November 2nd the SOS Anniversary Award to Johnson & Johnson for their support of SOS Children’s Villages in Africa at the Embassy of Austria in Washington D.C.

She too shared her experiences with SOS Children’s Villages in Jordan during the reception hosted by His Excellency the Ambassador of Austria, Dr. Christian Prosl, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the organisation. Queen Noor Al Hussein, Honorary Chairperson of SOS Children’s Village Association of Jordan and honorary member of the General Assembly of the SOS-Kinderdorf International, introduced the SOS Children’s Villages in Jordan after a meeting with Hermann Gmeiner, the founder of SOS Children’s Villages.

The first Jordanian SOS Children’s Village was inaugurated by the late King Hussein and Queen Noor on May 7, 1987 in Amman.

salma Jordanian Royals Children, Patronage, Queen Noor, SOS Children's Villages, United States of America

Under the patronage of Princess Rym Ali, the Executive Commissioner of the Royal Film Commission, and attended by Prince Ra’ad bin Zein and Princess Majda, started the 21st European Film Festival (1-16 November) at Al Hussein Cultural Center in Amman.

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The 21st edition will take place in Amman at Al Hussein Cultural Centre, (King Abdullah II Center), Irbid (Yarmouk University), Aqaba (Chamber of Commerce) and Karak (Hassan Cultural Center). The Festival’s objectives are to introduce Jordanian people to the tradition and culture of the European countries and promoting the intercultural dialogue.

On November 9 will be celebrated at Festival the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall with a film screening and concerts. The popular German band 17 Hippies will be playing at this event together with the popular Jordanian Band Sign of Thyme.

The Festival is arranged by the European Union in cooperation with the Royal Film Commission and Greater Amman Municipality. This year the spectators can see films from fifteen countries.

salma Jordanian Royals Film, Patronage, Princess Rym

Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein was present on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Jordan Rally 2009 (29 – 31 Oct 2009) in Amman. This year, the Rally was held in the Dead Sea and Mount Nebo. Twenty-nine teams from all over the world participated in it.

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During the opening ceremony, attendees enjoyed listening to traditional music and a concert by Omar Abdallat.

Prince Feisal, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) and Chairman of Jordan Motorsport, made a statement to the Agence France-Presse (AFP). He said that “the importance of the Jordan Rally this year is that it’s considered to be a rehearsal for the real and most important World Rally Championship, which will be hosted in Jordan next April.”

salma Jordanian Royals Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein, Sport

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Prince Hassan of Jordan visited Ankara (Turkey) last Wednesday, where he gave a speech at the Parliament of Cultures.

The conference was inaugurated by Professor Ihsan Dogramaci. In his speech, HRH said that “we must work towards a law for peace”, and that “it is important to focus on the affinities among cultures in order to fight discrimination”.

The Parliament of Cultures is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) which works to promote understanding among different cultures throughout the world.

Before the conference, Prince Hassan had a meeting with Turkish President, Abdullah Gül.

salma Jordanian Royals Prince Hassan, Turkey

ammonnews.net

 HRH Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein, the honorary chairman of the Al Shajarah Foundation, honored last Monday at King Hussein Club in Amman supporters of this Foundation.

Mr. Fuad Srouji, the Foundation’s director, Khalid Irani, the Minister of Environment, and HRH Princess Basma bint Ali, the founder of the Royal Botanic Garden, were also present at the lunch.

The Shajarah Foundation was created in June 2006 under the patronage of Prince Hamzah, who often collaborates with them. The Foundation has reforested different places of Jordan during these years with the support of Zain Company, Toyota, the Governorates of Jerash and Madaba, and the Dutch embassy.

salma Jordanian Royals Environment, Jordan, Prince Hamzah

King Abdullah of Jordan inaugurated on Monday Jordam’s first independent power plant in Amman. The $300 million Amman East Power Project was constructed on a site located at Almanakher, which is approximately 14 kilometers east of Amman, and about 1 km from the Arab Gas Pipeline.

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The project’s main goal is to meet the electricity needs of the country in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, in order to contribute to the economical well-being of the population of Jordan. This project has been financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The new power plant was built by AED Jordan PSC, a company owned by a consortium formed by AES Oasis Ltd. Company(Cayman Islands) and Mitsui Co. Ltd. (Japan), which also built another power plant in Mafraq.

King Abdullah II was accompanied by a number of ambassadors, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Khaldoun Qteishat, the Royal Court Chief, Nasser Lozi, and the King’s Adviser, Ayman Safadi.

salma Jordanian Royals Abdullah II, Industry

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Princesses Ghida Talal and Dina Mired attended on Tuesday the opening of the seminar “Combating Cancer and Tobacco Use in the Developing World” organised by the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in cooperation with the World Health Organisation and hosted by breast cancer activist and WHO Goodwill Ambassador, Nancy Brinker.

Princess Ghida Talal, the Chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), said during her speech that 40% of all cancers can be prevented by refraining from smoking and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and added that “we need to go back to the proper diet and stay away from fast food, which is responsible for the increasing incidence of cancer in developing countries, not to mention caused by heart disease and obesity.”

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Princess Dina Mired, Director General of the KHCF, appreciated the efforts and achievements of the program in Jordan to breast cancer.During the symposium, Princesses Ghida and Dina signed the document “World Youth anti-smoking and cancer” and called to all world leaders to give this issue a priority in the global agenda for health.

salma Jordanian Royals Cancer, Health, Princess Dina, Princess Ghida