Over the past few years my company has been hosting young German designers in Amman for a few months of training and cultural exploration. As I’ve written before, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive for both our young guests and us.

Getting a young European person into Jordan is easy. But what if a young Jordanian want to spend some time in Germany. Earlier this year, one of our Jordanian designers, Ahmad Sabbagh, spent some time in Germany, working on a project that required the skills of an Arab designer. The German company did the impossible to get a visa into Germany in almost no time. For Ahmad it was a good working and travel experience.

Needless to say, stories like these remain the exception. As Lina Ejelat correctly points out in her latest post, travel for Arab youth is hindered by a multitude of factors (money, family objections, visa restrictions, etc).

But there is hope, for some at least. Lina writes about Safar, an organization whose mission is to offer travel opportunities to proactive, young Arab people between the age of 15 and 35.

What Lina advises youth to do is: be proactive and try. Beyond opportunities offered by Safar, there are other travel and exploration activities, if one seeks them.

what I’ve come to realize in recent years and through my involvement with youth programs and activities, is that there are in fact lots of chances for young people here to travel, with MINIMUM cost, through initiatives and programs. It’s a shame that most people don’t know about it, or don’t bother to search hard enough. It’s also a shame that in many cases, it’s the pretty much the same people who benefit from the opportunities… again, either for lack of awareness among others, or because the majority just whine about boredom and lack of things to do but do not want to get out of their comfort zones and start exploring

Read more: Into the Wind: Youth and Travel Opportunities.