The Noor Al Hussein Foundation Institute of Family Health, launched on the internet in March 2021, the first youth paintings show titled “Innovators in the time of Corona”. This art gallery comes under the auspices of the Youth Project of the Noor Al Hussein Foundation, which seeks to educate the youth about sexual and reproductive health issues, and awareness about GBV, and life skills.

As we are through the Corona pandemic and its ramifications, we had had to think in an innovative way to showcase talents, and to encourage them without exposing them to the danger of catching the virus, through participation in a physical show in contravention of the health restrictions related to social distancing and public gatherings. Hence, the idea of mounting this virtual show.

The gallery contains 25 paintings, displayed through the virtual reality technique, which allows the visitors to browse as if they were in a real gallery, without leaving their homes. Each work of art comes with information about the artists, and their name and age, and the name of the painting. The paintings belong to male and female youths enrolled in branches of the Institute of Family Health Care in Karak, Zarqa, Madiba, Suwaileh, East Amman, Dair Alaa, Zaatari refugee camp, and the Emirates-Jordanian refugee camp. This show utilized the energy and capabilities of the youth, which were expressed in the form of charcoal, pencil, acrylic paintings, as a reflection of their imagination, reality, and memories.

It is worth noting that the show was received with satisfaction among the youth, in a way that motivated other male and female youngsters to take part through their artistic innovations. The young artists stated that their participation in the show made them self-confident and proud of their work and talent. A participant from the Emirates-Jordanian Refugee Camp, stated, “I used to be shy when going to the university, because coming from a refugee camp I felt different from others. However, after the display of my paintings with my colleagues, and their satisfaction about them, I proved myself and the place I come from became irrelevant in comparison with others; my skills, talent, and my educational attainment are what matter now”.

The Noor Al Hussein Foundation has been an executive partner of UNFPA since 2008. UNFPA supports the Foundation on three components: Youth; GBV response; and Sexual and Reproductive Health. UNFPA support of the gallery comes within the youth component, and is one of its core objectives, which seek to actualize the full potential of each male and female youth.

You can visit the virtual show through this link: https://bit.ly/3toiOLj