ESC: European Solidarity Heroes in Desert Bloom

Desert Bloom is a nonprofit organization based in Jordan dedicated to unleashing people’s potential to contribute to world’s peace and sustainability. We strive to make the world a better place through Interfaith Cooperation, Intercultural Understanding, Volunteerism & Global Citizenship Education. We focus on reinforcing global competencies and universal morality to prepare people for an inclusive and sustainable world. We empower people, particularly youth and the most disadvantaged and marginalized, to enable them to take greater control of their own lives and to actively engage in confronting economic, political, social and environmental challenges. Our Vision: "A just, peaceful and inclusive world where resources are shared, our common humanity is cherished, and everyone is empowered to contribute to positive change" Our Mission: Optimizing people's potentials and promoting an increasingly collaborative world where people, particularly youth, have the opportunity and skills to contribute to a more peaceful and sustainable world. Our Fundamental Value: • We value diversity and inclusion. • We support social justice and equal opportunities. • We value voluntary work and community service. • We value collaborations with like-minded organizations. • We encourage the resolution of conflict through peaceful means. • We support the development of sustainable solutions to global problems. • We promote resource efficiency and sustainable economies Our History: The history of Desert Bloom’s founders goes back to around the end of the second millennium, when they established the “Self-Improvement & Community Service” initiative at the University of Jordan Alumni Club at the beginning of 2000. The initiative aimed at improving graduates' life and professional skills. The repercussions of world Trade Center tragedy in 2001 incited the group to confront the growing hatred and misunderstanding between Western and Arab worlds. Hence, we established "Quested Peace Initiative" in February 2003 to build bridges of understanding and restore trust between the West and the Middle East at grassroots levels. To enhance its global reach, Quested Peace joined the United Religions Initiative (URI) as a URI Cooperation Circle in January 2004. On July 7th, 2018, Quested Peace changed its name to Desert Bloom and registered the new name in the Companies Control Department as a Jordanian Nonprofit Organization. Our Target group: Youth and less fortunate people Our Activities: • Organize conference on peace-building, interfaith dialogue, human rights, diversity and intercultural dialogue & understanding. • Community and youth capacity development. • Youth and Community Empowerment, including training workshops on soft and hard skills. • Environment Protection • Gender Equality and women empowerment initiatives. • Organize/ co-organize/ participate in Erasmus+/ Euro-Med Youth projects. • Organize International Camps. • Digital Peace-building • Empower Community Resilience through peace-building, conflict transformation and preventing violent Extremism and youth radicalisation. • Voluntary work and community service.