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Tafilah- Under the esteemed patronage of H.E. Mohammad Rafaya’, Governor of Tafilah, the Information and Research Center – King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF), in partnership with UN Women and the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), organized a closing ceremony to present the outcomes of joint advocacy campaigns on women’s economic empowerment led by seven Community-based Organizations (CBOs) in Tafilah. Implemented during the past six months with the generous support of the Governments of Finland, France, Iceland, Italy as well as Zonta International Foundation, the campaigns aimed at raising awareness on challenges and opportunities faced by women and girls in their communities, with a specific focus on access to livelihood services. “Women now have more important roles in all spheres of life. Her role is a fundamental requirement for a successful developmental process in all the areas. The Jordanian women have become like every other women in the world; she is a key pillar of development and a partner of men” affirmed H.E. Mohammad Rafay’a, Governor of Tafilah. In these campaigns, every CBO has used multi-dimensional outreach channels to deliver their campaigns’ messages and to achieve their goals; such as meetings with policy makers and stakeholders, conducting awareness raising sessions, participating in radio interviews, as well as using publications such as brochures and making videos. During the event, members of the municipality, local community, service providers and the private sector had the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with the seven CBOs on the key achievements and outcomes of the advocacy campaigns, highlighting the need to promote gender-mainstreaming. into policy and local development planning, as well as the importance of raising awareness among local decision-makers on the positive impact of gender-responsive services for the community as a whole. “The findings showed the need to improve the provided services, including medical clinics, the transport system, and economic support. Advocacy campaigns contribute to promoting access to public services and developing women’s lives and the lives of their families and other women’s in the communities in Tafileh” affirmed Dr. Evan Qursha, Institutional Capacity Development Specialist at UN Women Jordan. Each campaign has been designed based on the findings of a baseline assessment conducted by IRCKHF in Tafilah, which identified women’s economic empowerment as a priority area for joint advocacy efforts. Participating CBOs included: Al-Hasa Charitable Society, Basha’er Ar-Rahman Society, Buseira Society for Women, Women of Tafilah Association, Ain Al-Bayda Society, Hibat Allah Society, and the Princess Basma Center. Complementing joint advocacy efforts, IRCKHF, in collaboration with JNCW, built the capacity of the seven CBOs to effectively mobilize community members on women’s empowerment, while strengthening their capacity to advocate with decision-makers at the local level on the design of inclusive and gender-responsive services. “We always prefer to start with research to ensure our advocacy is evidence-based. What makes this project unique is that it is only about Tafilah, and focuses on the identified gender development needs. These 7 women's advocacy campaigns via the 7 CBOs here today each represent one of the seven districts of Tafilah, thus increasing the overall impact of the project within the governorate as a whole.” affirmed Dr. Aida Essaid, director of IRCKHF.