The final ceremony of the Jordanian edition of DataJam competition, held at Bushra Secondary Comprehensive School in Irbid, Jordan, concluded with an awards ceremony on June 23, 2024, honoring the innovative solutions proposed by Jordanian school students to mitigate the effects of climate change. This competition provided a platform for students to address critical environmental issues through systematic, evidence-based approaches. Utilizing available data and statistics, the students analyzed problems such as the effect of rainfall on school absence rates, the impact of rising temperatures on stray dog bites, the relationship between climate change and high blood pressure, the connection between air pollution and increased deaths, and the influence of temperature on tourism. The competition spanned from January 2024 to late June 2024, culminating in prizes ranging from 400 USD for the first-place team to 100 USD for the tenth-place team, along with participation certificates.
Eighteen teams from public schools across Jordan met the announced requirements to join the competition during the 2023/2024 academic year. They were scheduled for a series of training sessions over two months, focusing on data collection, management, and analysis. Most of the materials and resources used are provided by the American Data Jam team, with the Jordanian team translating the majority of them into Arabic. The eighteen teams were evaluated according to DataJam regulations, with ten advancing to the second stage. At the third stage of the competition, the top six teams presented their projects to a jury from the United States, who ranked them based on their performance and scientific valuable.
Originally an American initiative, the DataJam competition is managed by the Global Center on Climate Change, Water, Energy, Food, and Health (GC3WEFH) for the Middle East and North Africa region and implemented in Jordan by Climate Action Network Jordan (CAN). The Jordanian edition was organized in cooperation with the Jordan Ministry of Education, the Adaptation Fund, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Jordan, and UNICEF Jordan. The competition targets high school students and after-school programs, emphasizing environmental education through the use of databases to answer research questions related to climate change and environmental challenges.
Participants collaborated in teams of three to seven members, engaging in activities such as formulating research questions, identifying and analyzing available datasets, and presenting their final results to the judging panel. Through this process, students gained essential skills in applying the scientific method, data analysis, and scientific presentations, contributing to the development of a generation of informed and active environmental guardians. The Jordanian edition of the competition was coordinated by Eng. Alham Al-Shurafat and her assistants, Eng. Hamza Abu Saleek and Eng. Ola Daoud along with other staff members from CAN.
Eng. Al-Shurafat highlighted the competition as a unique opportunity for Jordanian students to understand data analysis and connect data with their daily lives. She emphasized the significance of such projects in helping the youth value data and its importance in finding community and nature-based solutions, including those related to climate change. She acknowledged the excellent support from the DataJam team in the US, who generously shared their resources, materials, and expertise with the Jordanian team, marking a success in cultural and scientific exchange between Jordanians and Americans.
Student Rimas from Bushra School expressed her happiness about participating in the competition, emphasizing the importance of involving youth in decision-making and finding solutions to problems emerging due to climate change. She added that winning this award motivated her even more to think of solutions that can help her family and community adapt to the effects of climate change.
The DataJam competition in Jordan reflects a promising step toward fostering environmental awareness and innovation among the youth, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to address the pressing challenges of climate change. This event not only showcased the talents and dedication of Jordanian students but also highlighted the importance of international cooperation and support in tackling global environmental issues.
