As part of the Thrive Project at the GJU's Department of Social Work, trainer Rola Annan conducted a Mindful-based Intercultural Resilience Training (MBICRT) for 20 social work students and Syrian social workers from the Zaatari Camp on December 1st and 2nd, 2023. The workshop focused on mindfulness and self-care practices, aimed to empower social workers in intercultural settings by enhancing their self-awareness, metacognition, and emotional intelligence. The session was designed as an experience-based learning, which included a theoretical foundations and engaged the participants. The workshop began with circle values, emotional check-ins, and discussions on happiness definitions, incorporating perspectives such as contentment, peace, comfort, freedom, security, love, family, and satisfaction. The trainer also explored the concept of happiness as per Hays, involving setpoints, conditions, and voluntary activities. After “checking in” participants' feelings, the trainer demonstrated mapping emotions in the body, revealing how emotions can activate different bodily responses.

The trainer delved into the current impact of the absence of peace talks, emphasizing the importance of teaching children effective communication and conflict resolution skills. 

Key takeaways from the training included fostering mercy and compassion, practicing patience, conducting check-ins to break autopilots, shifting from self-blaming to self-love, recognizing and cultivating self-compassion through meditation, engaging in ongoing self-development, prioritizing personal needs, disregarding others' judgments, and understanding that self-actualization aligns with compassion and empathy.

In autumn 2024, another Mindfulness-Based Intercultural Resilience Training (MBICRT) was conducted by Prof. Dr. Hannah Reich (thws), Germany,  Prof. Dr. Nada Eltaiba (GJU), Jordan & Amal Hawari (MUBS), Lebanon. The program combined a series of online sessions with in-person workshops in Jordan & Germany, bringing together social work students and practitioners to strengthen resilience and self-care in intercultural contexts. The training is conceptualized as an experience-based learning, integrating theoretical foundations with regular mindfulness practices & other techniques from Migration Education, Peace Education & Interactive Theatre. Due to the beginning of a war in Lebanon, no in person event could be implemented there. However, adapting to the situation, a new measurement was conceptualized to acknowledge the needs of the Lebanese and implemented in Germany in December: Resilienz, Empowerment and Community Well-being.  

The online sessions introduced participants to a variety of topics, including mindfulness as a tool for navigating cultural differences, resilience in refugee communities, ethical decision-making in cross-cultural social work as well as the Salutogenetic model as a culturally sensitive approach to health.

Following the online series, in-person workshops were held at GJU and MUBS. In Jordan, trainer Rola Annan led two intensive sessions for social work students and participants from the Zaatari Camp, focusing on mindfulness, emotional self-awareness, and practical self-care strategies. In Lebanon, students at MUBS engaged in a full-day training that combined group practices with individual supervision. Across all formats, the workshops emphasized empowerment, self-compassion, and the cultivation of resilience, offering participants concrete tools to strengthen their professional and personal wellbeing.