King’s Academy awards King Constantine Medal to Amr Almghawish

Posted: 10 August 2018

Academy awarded the King Constantine Medal to Amr Almghawish for his tireless efforts to spread the spirit of Democracy.

“Everyone has an equal voice regardless of their gender, origin, background or ethnicity because we all share our countries and the morals and ethics of humanity,” explains Amr “King’s Academy’s Model United Nations conference has taught me the meaning of democracy on a bigger scale where we used to represent countries and talk about the different issues they were facing and come with resolutions that are applied based on their quality and not the background of their creators. It is so important to learn about it because I feel that it makes people more aware of the rights of other people and gives them a better sense of appreciation to those different than them who provide positive contributions to make the world a better place for all its residents.”

Amr was an integral part of the student led team who put together King’s Academy first Jordan Model Parliament (JMP) Middle School Conference.

Upper School students including Amr, set out to train students in grades 7 and 8 to become future parliamentarians. Their first conference brought together around 80 middle school students from King’s and public and private schools around Jordan to discuss important issues affecting the country and propose solutions to them.

Amr who is the JMP student secretariat, came up with the idea of a Jordan Model Parliament specifically for Middle School students and used the school’s guiding principles of respect, love of learning, responsibility, an integrated life and global citizenship to shape the programme: “Students will learn that they are stewards of what they receive and that it is their responsibility to pass on this stewardship to others, such as younger students and the community as a whole,” explains Amr.

After pitching the idea to Dean of the Middle School and getting the green light, the students designed and developed the curriculum over the summer and are also taking the lead in organizing the conference.

Sixteen students signed up for Middle School JMP, comprising of an equal number of girls and boys. Amr took on the role of teacher, holding two classes a week to teach a curriculum that includes three main units: communication skills, Jordan, and conference. The upcoming conference will allow students to demonstrate what they have learned over the course of the term.

The communication skills unit taught Middle Schoolers to exchange ideas and make decisions together as a group, to discuss problems and come up with solutions and how to apply them. The conference itself taught them to organize the logistics of the conference, while the Jordan component coverd history and current affairs, essential knowledge for Jordan’s future leaders and parliamentarians.

“The students are getting a better understanding of Jordan, and learning to communicate with each other,” says Amr. “When we first started everyone was shouting over each other and interrupting; now I’m really impressed by the level of discussion. By the end of the course we aimed to have practiced the Harkness method, which I couldn’t have imagined on day one, but that’s how far they’ve come.”

As many Middle Schoolers have shown an interest in joining JMP, it is expected that the class size will double next term and that two classes may be offered: beginner and advanced. “The recent parliamentary elections showed us which areas still need a lot of work,” says Amr. “With JMP we aim to model a better version, to show how we want to lead it in the future when we become a part of it.”

Even after graduating from King’s Academy, Amr’s passion for Democracy is still strong. In February 2018 Amr spoke in the Equality and Parity in Science for Peace and Development Conference in the United Nations “I about the different Round Square initiates we used to do at King’s Academy to empower young men and women of different ages and encourage them to make a difference in their societies.”

It’s not just Democracy that Amr has trail-blazed in, he is also acted in a leadership role within the schools Green Club, “Being a member of the Ecos and Greens club for three years at King’s Academy changed the way I look and deal with the environment entirely,” reflects Amr “It all started with little acts of cleaning the areas around the school, learning the importance of recycling, planting trees for celebrating achievements and attending meetings to learn more about our environment.”

Throughout his time at King’s, he helped to shape the new Ecos and Greens conference. Collaborating with other public and private schools in the area they met to share experiences and to discuss sustainable sources of income for their environmental projects through hands-on workshops and engaged with influential speakers. “We shared the importance of environmentalism with over 50 schools around the country, urging people to act immediately towards their surroundings, become agents of change in their societies.”

Amr has also dedicated hours of his time to service, volunteering on many school service projects including King’s Academy’s Summer Enrichment Program, which is a summer camp for underprivileged students. “Service means happiness to me,” says Amr simply “Seeing another person happy makes me happy.”

“Not only was Amr involved in the IDEALS at King’s Academy, he worked tirelessly to reach out into the wider community to spread them,” says Salwa Manaja, Round Square Rep at King’s Academy “We are very proud to award him the King Constantine Medal in recognition of these efforts.”

Having now graduated from King’s Academy, Amr is now a first-year student at Trinity College in the USA. “While still undecided with my field of studies, I am one of the leaders of the Model United Nations club, the International House, the Green House and I do lots of research about women in an international context. Moreover, I am planning on going on terms abroad to continue meeting new people and learn about cultures.”

“Round Square is a dream that came true. It is what changed me forever and prepped me for this world with values that I carry around proudly sharing them with others and making an act of change to whichever society I go to.”