Nakhweh.com - 3rd beta version

Amman – Nakhweh.com team launches the third beta version of the website dedicated to link volunteers with opportunities to volunteer. The new version comes a year after establishing the initiative under the slogan “Connecting hearts to change the world”.

Kamel Al-Asmar, a co-founder of the initiative, says: “The update includes new initiatives, such as (The Blood Channel), which aims to build a database of blood donors, to be informed in cases in need of blood, using all channels of social media, email and cellular phone.”

The Nakhweh.com Blog (blog.nakhweh.com) was also released with the third beta version. The blog is concerned first and foremost by disseminating information on social causes, allowing visitors to see the opportunities available for them to provide moral and in-kind help. It also includes stories, projects and news dealing with social issues in the Arab world.

With reference to the experience of the first year; Hadi Nasereddin, the other co-founder added: “The idea of the website had the admiration and support of individuals, organizations and corporations. The most important of the examples is the support provided by Aramex to the initiative (Give Back); which operates to collect in-kind contributions, where Aramex collects them from donor sites and homes, while the Nakhweh.com team distribute them to the needy with the assistance of volunteers”

“At Aramex, we are committed to supporting initiatives that serve our communities” said Hussam Baraqouni, Aramex Chief Executive Officer for the Levant “especially those that are initiated by youth who enjoy an entrepreneurial drive and who aim to create opportunities for themselves and the people around them”.

Also the website team started to hold partnership agreements with a number of institutions and individuals inside and outside Jordan to deliver its message to the largest number of beneficiaries in the Arab world.

It’s worth mentioning that the website team will enhance its activities in the coming days to collect as many information on volunteering opportunities and charity during the holy month of Ramadan.

Ideation Box

It has been ages since I wrote a blog post; it’s not because there is nothing to write about but it’s my claim of being so busy. Any way, June 6th 2010 marked the first anniversary of my startup Ideation Box and I was planning to write something then but it didn’t work for me so now I’m putting everything here in one chaotic post.

Entrepreneurship, a phrase that I don’t even know how to pronounce it well, has been always attractive for a person like me, I always wanted people to call me an entrepreneur and that’s probably my first reason of why I took my life to another level and started my own business along with my partner Hadi (I bet he’s still shocked for the way it happened).  I didn’t spend more than 5 minutes of my life to take such a decision and start hitting some walls. Finally now I’m being introduced as a business and social entrepreneur, and here we go, I pinpointed it twice.

Now after more than 1 year of trials and a lot of errors, I can only say that last year was a very intensive “experience course” that kept feeding me mixed emotions of glory and disappointment and helped me in growing my vision, ambition, practices and definitely persistence.

I don’t want to go through the details of my first year, I don’t want to show people that I failed in serving some clients, I won’t explain why I regretted working with some friends… etc! The conclusion is that I’m still here serving my dream, hitting more walls, taking care of the clients and our 2 big babies, Nakhweh.com and Tadarrab.com, proceeding with the Ideation process and popping more ideas out of our Box!

“Your creative idea might redefine you one day, bring it to life and take good care of it!” – Kamel Al-Asmar

In her video accepting the visionary award of YouTube (November 2008), Queen Rania spoofed David Letterman with 10 reasons of why she launched her channel against stereotypes on YouTube, 9 of those reasons are funny ones and one of the 9 is: “Because I was tired of people thinking Jordan was just a basketball player…”.

Three weeks in USA, I always make my way down to the lobby from the 18th floor. In that long journey everyday I meet new people, being in a hotel will tell them that I’m at least from another state if not from another country; that what makes the question: “Where are you from?” something that I used to hear all day long.

Honestly, very few people who knew Jordan; a lot of them used to ask “Where is Jordan?” or “is it next to Israel?” but it was very shocking when someone asked me “What’s Jordan?”, that question made me answer in a very ironic way “Jordan is a basketball player”. Suddenly that man jumped and told me “oh sorry sorry… Jordan! Do you still speak Russian?” I was like “but we never spoke Russian, Jordan is in the Arab world… it’s not Georgia”. Couple of minutes the elevator stopped at the lobby and that man was explaining how much he’s sorry for not recognizing my country because it’s still very early and he’s unable to concentrate.

It didn’t take me too long to understand the reason behind their ignorance. It’s definitely not our media because we have a King and a Queen who are doing a great job in promoting Jordan, also our location in the middle of the conflicts should make us very popular. But what if those people grab the newspaper everyday in the morning to read some weird news? I couldn’t find anything that mentions the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in the daily newspaper in front of my room door and that was fine for me, but the fact that the main headline on the first page in the “US Today” newspaper was “Sandra Bullock’s new adopted son” drove me crazy, at that moment I though that the peace has spread all over the world, the conflict in Palestine has been resolved, Iraqi war is over and Haiti has been already rebuilt.

That’s insane! why would a country like USA that’s causing problems all over the world hide a lot of information about the people in the other side of the globe?

AmmanTT

Tomorrow I will be missing the first #AmmanTT event that will be held in Amman as the beginning of a new platform for the tech-community by the tech-community. Amman Tech Tuesdays will bring engineers, business people, experts, investors, marketers, entrepreneurs, students and regular enthusiasts from the technology community together on the first Tuesday of every month in a casual but structured setting. The main goal behind the program is to organically fortify and interweave ties in Amman to further our position as the region’s new Tech Hub.

The spin on all of this is that #AmmanTT is an adoptable platform. Looking at Amman’s tech community, we easily realize that it operates in small groups according to specialization. Today, we see little activity between these groups and most are blind to what innovations and ideas are being developed at the local level. So from month to month, #AmmanTT will be managed and hosted by a different part of the tech community to promote and expand reach. Anyone can step up to the plate and take ownership!

#AmmanTT first event will be held in the Friendship Auditorium at Princess Sumaya University for Technology at 7:00PM. The agenda of the evening includes speeches by:

• My ex-mentor for Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Competition, Dr. Usama Fayyad.
• Ibrahim Manna our friend and the co-founder of Wheels Express will speak about the challenges of an e-commerce business in Jordan.
• Lawyer Omar Al-Taweel (Al-Taweel Law) will give the audience some information about registering companies in Jordan in addition to some information about the new Cyber Crime Laws.

From the other part of the world; I hope that my friends in Amman, especially Fouad Jeryes, will be able to deliver a unique and informative evening.

عشان بدي اكتب هاد العنوان قررت إنو رح اكتب بالعربي هل مرة. وصلت على أميركا قبل اسبوعين و بلشت من العاصمه واشنطن و بعدين على هيوستن، طبعاً هدول مدينتين معروفين. بعدين اكتشفت اني رايح على مدينه اسمها سينت لويس بحياتي ما سمعت فيها و بس وصلت هناك عرفت ليش عمري مش سامع عنها.

سينت لويس مدينه ما فيها الفشخرة تبعت باقي المدن إلي بعرفها أو شفتها، يعني ببساطة الجماعة مفلسين و عباب الله. لفيت كتير و زرت مدارس، جامعات و شركات و بآخر يوم رحت أقابل مجموعة مجتمعين بدهم يطوعو بحديقة عامه عشان ينظفوها و يصلحو شوية شغلات بس إلي فاجأني إنو مش هاد الهدف الأساسي للاجتماع، هدول مجموعة مسلمين، مسحيين و يهود بجمعية لحوار الأديان. طبعاً الموضوع بالنسبه إلي كان كتير غريب خصوصاً بعد ما قالولي إنو بهاي المدينه كان المسلم أو اليهودي ما بطلعلهم يتعالجوا بمستشفى مسيحي (يا فرحتهم)، يعني يموتو الله لا يردهم.

طبعاً أنا ما بلومهم بالمرة إذا هيك الوضع لازم يلاقولهم حل و يجتمعو هيك إجتماع، بس مش هاد الموضوع؛ الموضوع إنو أنا قلتلهم جمله وحده “يا جماعة أنا مستغرب كيف إنتو المفروض تكونو أقوى دوله بالعالم و مش عارفين تخلصوا من هاي التفاهات، و نحنا إلي انتو معتبرين إنا عالم ثالث أو عاشر منستحي على دمنا ومنحترم غيرنا”، هاي الجمله متل إلي كانو مش مصدقين و واحد يحكيها. وحده منهم قالتلي إنت مجنون إذا مفكر هيك، هاد الحكي عندكم مش عنا… إذا هاي الحديقة إلي إنت فيها بموت فيها ٢-٣ بالأسبوع طخ! و نحنا مش لاقيين ناكل ولا نشرب بس شاطرين يسحبوا منا الضريبه ويعيشوا الجيش إلي خارب بيتكم.

المهم كلهم بلشو يتشكونو و وحده منهم اعترفت إنو عشان ابنها ياكل بعد ما مات جوزها طخ بالحديقة إلي كنا فيها، هي ببساطة مهنتها الدعارة في أقوى دوله إلي عم بحكي عنها والي ما عرفت ادرسها ببلاش.

و الباقي عندكم…

As  co-founder of Nakhweh.com I arrived to the United States on the 9th of April to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program by the Department of the State under the title of “Volunteerism: United We Serve” with 104 people from more than 80 different countries. It’s my first visit to the USA; in general I like the country and the way it’s organized, also the people are very kind and friendly (I didn’t expect it though) but for sure it’s not the right place for me to live in.

The program started on the 12th of April in Washington D.C. with a very intensive agenda that includes a lot of seminars, panels and activities, then it moved to Houston and now I’m in Saint Louis for a couple of days before the program concludes in San Fransisco. The purpose of such a program is to show us how volunteerism is done in USA and how we can reflect it on our communities, taking into consideration that they have the best practices. Unfortunately, until this morning, the last 10 days added nothing to me in regards of social innovation as I really see the high potential for Jordan to host such a program rather than USA especially when it comes to 3 important topics:

• One of the panelists said that they really face a problem in getting people who need help to do their part of social service in USA; at that point I had nothing to do more than mentioning Madrasati as a clear example of what is being done in Jordan and how students help in moving their schools to another level.
• The staff of a very big international oil and gas company were very proud of what they are doing as a part of their social service programs and CSR and I was literally shocked! If that what they consider CSR then I had to raise the name of Aramex and show how they at least built a community center in one of our areas as an example of what is being done in my country. They were shocked that we do something like that (and thought Aramex is my father’s company and I’m promoting it).
• On another panel there was a CEO of a volunteer matching organization which has a website that does Nakhweh.com’s work but on a bigger scale. That guy failed in giving me clear answers on my questions about the main three problems that face such a project.

In Saint Louis this morning I and my new Polish friend Wojciech Rustecki went to the Parkway North High School to take a look on how youth are engaged in social service and volunteerism. Our host at the school was a girl who takes care of the visitors like us as she volunteers with the World Affairs Council of Saint Louis. The meeting started with 3 students from the school (Muslim, Christian and Jewish) and finally those guys succeeded in impressing me for the first time since I arrived to their country.

One of the classes at Parkway North High School

We started to ask the questions that we used to ask when we meet other people who deal with youth and students but never had the chance to ask the youth themselves. The first and the most important one is: Why are you involved? a question that I personally could never find its answer although I’ve been asked more than once about it (I can’t forget when Fadi Ghandour insisted to dig and get it out of me with no hope).

Simply we figured out that the high schools in USA require 10 hours of volunteerism or what they call “service learning” and that’s how students are forced to do their social homework but what impressed me more is how those students continued their involvement in social services also after finishing their 10 hours. It didn’t stop their; those kids also work with their colleagues and prepare other volunteering activities for them.

All of them shared with us their passion and how they are happy to feel that they are making a difference in their communities. I believe that everyone on earth will have the same feeling if they get the chance to try it for one time at least, it’s all about the first experience and everything comes next.

Going back to Jordan, how hard is it to copy that concept to our schools? Not only schools, we recently started to hear something about few majors in the universities that require the students to complete a number of community service hours, why not all of them? I can predict the answer; when it comes to policies, things always take forever and that’s not a reason that convinces me at all.

If that’s not going to happen anytime soon, and soon for me means very very soon; then we, at Nakhweh, are moving forward and taking that step ahead in helping students to give back to their communities. This is how we will truly help in building a better understanding of the volunteering culture in Jordan and the Arab world. It’s a matter of days and I will be back to Jordan; as soon as I arrive we will prepare a series of very casual seminars to be held in schools and universities to let the students know how to do that homework.

Under the Patronage of H.E. Saad Hariri, President of the Council of Minister of Lebanon, Beirut will host the largest and most significant gathering of web industry leaders ever to take place in the Arab world.  40 top-notch speakers, 11 supporting partners, 18 media partners, 35 startups, 50 ideas, 25 ambassadors, and over 300 decision makers, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the MENA, Europe, and Silicon Valley, will gather on March 25 & 26 at the Habtoor Grand Hotel to network and discuss emerging opportunities in Arab web business.

ArabNet’s unique conference format integrates the audience in candid talks between global giants (including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Nokia, Intel, Cisco) and regional powerhouses (including Aramex, Jabbar Group, Bayt, anf Al Jazeera).  With 8 comprehensive panels, each featuring 6 experts from the Arab World, Europe, and Silicon Valley, participants will discover cutting-edge trends in Social Media, Content, Online Advertising, Mobile, Gaming, E-commerce, Startup Financing, and the Ecosystem as a whole.  Speakers include Samih Toukan, founder of Maktoob.com, acquired by Yahoo for over $150M; Russell Buckley, VP of Global Alliances at AdMob and Global Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association; Ghassan Haddad, Director of Internationalization at Facebook; Wael Ghonim, Marketing and Product Manager, MENA, Google; and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair of UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

ArabNet is dedicated to nurturing the Arab Internet ecosystem.  Day one, March 25^th 2010, will feature two exclusive competitions highlighting web entrepreneurship in the Arab World: 1) the Startup Demo, sponsored by Aramex, showcasing 10 of the region’s most promising Internet startups and 2) the Ideathon, sponsored by Google, starring 10 of the region’s most innovative web business ideas.  Over 50 ideas & 35 startups have been submitted for consideration from across the region.  ArabNet will connect these entrepreneurs with investors, mentors, and media, matching talent with opportunity!

ArabNet builds a community of enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, experts, businessmen and angel investors that spans all of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.  In collaboration with its supporting partners and media partners, ArabNet organized groundbreaking pre-conference workshops in 7 MENA countries to foster a sense of ‘ArabNet identity’, and instill continuity and longevity in the ‘ArabNet experience’.  Such was the success of these workshops that they have been featured in the news across the globe.  This community was further extended and strengthened by ArabNet’s pioneering use of social media to engage the world, from the very start, in dialogue about the conference vision, program, and speakers.  Over 1,000 Twitter and Facebook users take part in this dialogue daily!

ArabNet 2010 is taking place in collaboration with the Central Bank of Lebanon, the Telecom Regulatory Association of Lebanon, and the Union of Arab ICT Associations. ArabNet is proud to have Aramex, Bank Audi, Google, National Net Ventures, Yahoo, Cisco, Middle East Venture Partners, and LINKdotNET as key sponsors.

Register Now to take part in this unparalleled and exceptional event!

Visit http://www.ArabNet.me for the Full Program & List of Speakers

As a co-founder of Nakhweh.com I have been selected by the U.S Department of State as the only Jordanian to attend the 3 weeks International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) under the title “Volunteerism: United we Serve”. The program includes a lot of interesting and informative activities on volunteerism and civil engagement in the United States.

I’m looking forward to take such an opportunity to get more exposure for Nakhweh.com in addition of developing my skills for volunteerism culture that can be reflected positively on Jordan and the Arab World.

The program will start on the 12th of April and I will be tweeting, blogging and sending updates to all of you on Nakhweh’s official social media channels.

About the IVLP:

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program.  Launched in 1940, the IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.  These visits reflect the International Visitors’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States.

ArabNet Pre-conference Workshop

Couple of hours ago we were at Al-Hasan Science City  (the campus that hosts QRCE) interacting and working together to explain the idea behind the first international conference for the Arab web industry; ArabNet 2010.

The workshop started with an introduction about the conference by Mohamad Khawaja (QRCE) and Ayman Azzeh (YEA), the introduction also included some stories on entrepreneurship in the Arab world. We were 9 in the hall when it started, then people started to join until we reached 14 people who introduced themselves in front of everyone.

Based on the agenda Khawaja and Azzeh started to explain the idea of the “Ideathon” giving an example for the template of a business case, and to make more useful, one of the attendees presented the business case he submitted to the “Ideation” already and discussed the idea with the audience. Also a good question came from one of the attendees asking about the benefits of submitting an idea, Khawaja answered that the people who will be there in Beirut during the conference time are a mix of entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, venture capitalists… etc; that obviously helps in taking any idea that will be presented to another level with the input from all people there. I also added to Khawaja’s answer the cash prize that the best 3 ideas will get (2500$, 1500$ and 1000$).

I’ve been invited to speak about Ideation Labs involvement to come back with ideas from the conference then I explained the “Startup Demo” part of the agenda and the event. We also announced the new deadline for applications and early registration.

After 6 months of launching the pre-beta version of nakhweh.com and under the patronage of Her Excellency Hala Bseiso Lattouf – Minister of Social Development; an outstanding social event sponsored by the Arab Bank will be held on the 27th of February as the official launch of the website.

The agenda of the event includes an interesting video (filmed by Aramram) and a lot segments that show the importance of volunteerism and social engagement. All segments are done in partnership with:

• 7iber.com by Mariam Abu Adas
• “Together” program by the Arab Bank
• Ta3leeleh by Rawan Zeine
• Madrasati by Dana Dajani
• Hamzet Wasel by Raghda Butros
• Jordan River Foundation by Valentina Qussisiya
• Raneen by Rawan Barakat
• Specific Union for Farmer Women in Jordan by Zeinab Al-Momany
• Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship by Mohammad Khawaja
• Zikra Initiative by Rabee’ Zureikat

There will also be a lot of surprises and announcements during the event about new services Nakhweh.com will be providing very soon.

Live streaming for the event will be available using the internet connection provided by Mada (link to be provided very soon).

#NakhwehEvent Sponsors