What’s it like organising a royal visit? They don’t come round very often in a diplomatic career. But when they do, they present extraordinary opportunities.
Last week’s visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall was just such an opportunity. It was made all the more meaningful because of the lasting relationship between the royal families, as demonstrated when His Majesty King Abdullah recalled that Prince Charles was a long-standing friend of the late King Hussein.
The responsibility for organising such a visit falls to the Embassy. The secret is in the preparation. The Prince’s team in London have lots of experience and know what the visitors want. Every move and almost every step have to be planned, mapped and timed down to the finest detail. Winning the Prince’s trust is about gaining the confidence of his team.
We organised ourselves so that one person “owned” each event and was responsible for all the arrangements for “their” event to make sure it ran smoothly. One person was responsible for co-ordination and we all got together on a weekly basis to co-ordinate and compare notes.
None of our arrangements would have been possible without the full co-operation of Royal Court Protocol, a very professional outfit who bent over backwards to accommodate even the most unusual requests.
But visits like this are not just about doing “nice” things. Visits have to be meaningful, with clear objectives and measurable outcomes. If possible, they should leave a mark on the country with initiatives that we can follow up. Right from the start we set ourselves the target of supporting Jordan’s economic growth.
His Majesty was keen to draw on the experience of the Prince of Wales’ charitable foundations to bring their experience to support economic reform in Jordan.
A good example of such a foundation is The Prince’s Trust, an organisation created by the Prince in 1976 to develop workplace skills such as confidence and motivation among young people from deprived backgrounds.
In 37 years the Trust has become the UK’s foremost youth charity and has helped over 70,000 people into work, education or training. The Trust was a pioneer in using rock concerts and celebrity comedy events to raise funds.
Another body with direct potential for Jordan is Youth Business International, who were participants in last week’s Enterprise Conference. They work in over 30 countries and are hoping to find a suitable partner in Jordan. They have helped over 100,000 people in different parts of the world by giving them access to finance, mentoring and training to create sustainable businesses.
Promoting enterprise and the vital role of the private sector was therefore a central message of the Prince’s visit.
Our chosen vehicle was the Enterprise Conference we organised last week, bringing together UK companies like BP, the Shell Foundation and Marks and Spencer with Jordanian companies, institutions and start-ups like Oasis500, Business Development Centre and the Jordan River Foundation.
Over 600 people took part and profited from the vibrant networking opportunities. Both the King and the Prince gave speeches underlining that the future economic growth of Jordan depends on enterprise and the private sector. The Prince praised the clear potential that was on display in Jordan.
And it’s not just for graduates. School children also can benefit. The Prince gave the prizes at the first Enterprise Challnege, a collaboration between the UK charity Mosaic, on which the Prince sits as President, and Injaz. Over 40 schools throughout Jordan took part in a competition using a computer game to generate their interest in business.
The winning children were all inspired by the experience, which involved a range of existing business people acting as mentors.
Throughout the visit, the Prince and the Duchess impressed everyone they met. In private and in public, they devoted time to meeting people, listening to their concerns and showing profound and genuine interest in Jordan. It was a privilege for everyone in the Embassy to deliver a programme that was so productive.
The legacy of the visit is clear: future collaboration between the Prince’s charities and foundations to help Jordanian organisations like the King Abdullah Fund for Development bring business expertise to the regions of Jordan. The Prince has entrusted us with this legacy. We intend to turn it into tangible benefit for both Jordan and the UK.