AMMAN: Education Malaysia Jordan, under its Research@EducationMalaysia4U initiative, has matched 81 research projects between Malaysia and Jordan to enhance research collaboration between academics in both countries.
The Matching Grant initiative has received positive response from public and private universities in Malaysia and Jordan.
Education Malaysia Jordan has received 566 research proposals since applications opened in February.
The 81 successful applications involved 15 universities in Malaysia and eight universities in Jordan.
Universiti Putra Malaysia recorded the highest number of successful applications of 24 research projects. Jordan University of Science and Technology was the largest research partner in Jordan by receiving 29 research projects.
Among other universities from Malaysia that were successful in applying for this initiative were Universiti Malaya (16 research projects), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (11), Universiti Sains Malaysia (seven) and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (five).
In addition to Jordan University of Science and Technology, the other matching research partners in Jordan are Applied Science University (21 research projects), Mutah University (10), Jerash University (eight), and Al-Balqa Applied University (seven).
All 81 research projects involve a fund allocation of RM 4,920,521.00 with RM 2,481,020.00 funded by universities in Jordan.
Associate Professor Dr Mohd Azmir Mohd Nizah, director of Education Malaysia Division, said the success of creating research collaborations through such projects was a testament to the efficiency of Education Malaysia Overseas offices, such as Education Malaysia Jordan, in playing their role in enhancing the visibility of the Malaysian higher education globally.
Associate Professor Dr Radzuwan Ab Rashid, director of Education Malaysia Jordan, said through the Matching Grant initiative, 81 International Research Memoranda of Agreement will be signed by the universities involved. It is expected that at least 162 research papers will be published jointly between researchers from both countries, which will help the universities to score better in the evaluation by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) as well as Times Higher Education (THE).
The chargé d'affaires of the Malaysian Embassy in Jordan, Zaimira Zulkfili, said such research collaboration would further expand the network of bilateral cooperation in higher education between the two countries for mutual benefit.
Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Education Faculty and the Land of Peace Centre for Development and Human Rights, Jordan have co-organised the 6th International Conference on Social Peace and Educational Alternatives for Violence (SPAfV).
The conference took place on May 11 and 12 at the Cyber Technopolis Auditorium in UKM Bangi, which saw a gathering of academics, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and students from Jordan and Malaysia discussing the role of peace education to address the various challenges in achieving social peace in a world fraught with tension and conflict.
Apart from the dialogue, the highlight of the conference was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UKM and the Land of Peace Centre for Development and Human Rights, Jordan to further collaborate on advancing peace education agenda in Malaysia and Jordan.
The main goal of the conference, according to its director Dr Hanita Hanim Ismail, was to exchange knowledge and ideas on the development of peace education through Islamic ideology and philosophy, as well as examine the roles of various agencies such as NGOs, Education Ministry, and the media in advancing the principles of peace education.
Among others, the speakers during the conference had discussed strategies to counter extremists and their ideology, the role of women and support for women towards creating a secure society and the role of the media in maintaining social and political peace in the region.
Dr Emad Zgol, from the Land of Peace Centre for Development and Human Rights in Jordan, in his welcoming speech said the rapid expansion of technology had led to known and unknown causes and effects of violence that require further understanding.
In their research involving 500 students in Jordan, they found that the key challenges to social peace are unemployment and family conflict.
Factors affecting social peace vary according to context, but they include issues of social justice, law enforcement, the influence of external and internal politics, poverty, unemployment and having extremist views.
His recommendations included seeking innovative ways to heal the conflict, the collaboration of the government and other agencies to counter violence, reinforcing research relating to peace and violence, creating peace education programmes and courses, and examining the role of social media to educate and create awareness on social peace.
Dr Ahmad El-Muhammady, from the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University Malaysia, in his effort in combating extremist ideology for the last 10 years, said his work involved analysing confiscated materials to identify the extremists' ideology and methods of dissemination, empathising with the extremists to build rapport and gain trust, and having dialogues with them to counter and challenge the extremists' ideas.
In his experience, there are three types of people he would encounter: i) hardcore and refuse to accept any other ideas, ii) receptive to counter ideas and willing to work with authorities to provide counter narrative, and iii) in the middle ground who maintain certain beliefs but do not resort to violence, who forms the majority.
He suggested that continuous engagement, even after they have left the prison system, was necessary to monitor these extremists.
Professor Dr Ahmad Murad Mohd Noor Merican of ISTAC, in his topic "The role of the media in combating the intellectual extremism and behavioural terrorism" discussed the violent origin of modern journalism and its way forward.
Peace journalism, according to him, involved a fair and balanced reporting based on verified facts, identification of causes of conflicts, providing a fair chance to various parties to present their arguments, interrogating the choice of words used and its underlying meaning to expose prejudice when presenting news, avoid slander, and was self-regulatory.
In her presentation on "Enhancing women's role towards a peaceful family and secure society", Professor Dr Dayang Anita Abdul Aziz, director of Tun Fatimah Hashim Women's Leadership Centre, UKM, argued that there had been an increase in gender-based violence during the pandemic and that women who were vocal about any forms of injustice often faced harassment and condemnation by society.
"Creating a peaceful family and secure society means that as a society we feel safe physically and emotionally, are physically and mentally healthy, face zero physical, verbal, financial, emotional abuse or threats, rank high in the happiness index, have low crime rate and have clear rules and regulations to adhere to."
She proposed three steps in enhancing the role of women: i) empowerment of women, ii) providing meaningful support for children and women, and iii) cultivating a child-friendly and women-friendly culture as well as developing women-friendly cities.
Finally, in a forum on "the role of dialogue as bases for the international cultural peace: from the NGO/CSO perspectives", Associate Professor Dr Wendy Yee Mei Tien, director of Centre for Internship Training and Academic enrichment (CITrA) said the aim of any dialogue was not to eliminate differences of opinion but to gain a better understanding of the varied positions and opinions people hold.
A successful dialogue, on the other hand, involved openness, suspension of judgement, ability to hear others, as well as forming trust and friendship.
Barriers to a successful dialogue, according to Hisham Muhaimi, Project Officer, Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY) were when it was a form of proselytising or "dakwah", when the dialogue format was not clearly defined, when certain topics were deemed too sensitive to discuss or viewed as promoting ill will among the communities or members did not feel safe to enter the discussion for fear of the negative impact on their wellbeing or career. A dialogue as part of a conflict and resolution process was necessary and needed to be well managed if we were serious about building a socially cohesive and peaceful society.
