In cooperation with various organizations and community members from across Amman, Hamzet Wasel organized the first 7-Jar (meaning seventh neighbor) in the fall of 2010. The project brought together diverse residents from Amman’s different communities and neighbourhoods who would otherwise not have a chance to interact to work towards achieving shared goals. Twelve teams, with a total of forty eight participants, set out to explore Amman and its lesser known parts through via public transportation and by communicating with Amman residents in order to uncover clues leading them to people and places of interest. This provided them with rich opportunities to discover pieces of Amman’s heritage and undertake challenges related to the city, in a challenging and inclusive team-building environment.
About a hundred and twenty applications were received for 7-Jar and forty-eight candidates were selected based on criteria, which took into account diversity based on age, gender, vocation and area of residence.
A pre-7-Jar meeting was held for all the participants, with a productive and engaging program to introduce 7-Jar and to begin the group-building process with ice-breaking games and physical and mental activities meant to break down stereotypes. Towards the end of the gathering, the names of the members of the twelve teams were revealed to the participants and the team-forming process began.
A second 7-Jar gathering was held in August 2010 with the purpose of helping the participants to become better acquainted in preparation for the big day. Teams participated in physical and mental challenges to help them build their teams and to hone their leadership and communication skills.
The actual 7-Jar event took place on the 2 October, and began with a series of challenges, which included recycling materials into useful products and selling fruits and vegetables at the vegetable souq in downtown Amman. The twelve teams then took off on a twelve-hour adventure, via public transportation, to one hundred and twenty locations covering the entire city by solving clues that challenged their knowledge of the city, its history and current urban trends. All the teams competed till the very end, even when they knew they were not going to win and despite freak weather conditions and transportation difficulties. The clues were derived from the history and present reality of the city and introduced participants to unfamiliar locations, people, information and realities, while weaving in elements of Arab history, literature, language, science, geography, heritage and pop culture.