The Nonviolence and Peace Building Masar (path) held a consultative meeting for activists in order to re-establish a national system for promoting nonviolence in Iraq, with the participation of 40 activists, men, and women, from different governorates of Iraq on May 25^th at the Uruk Hotel Hall in Baghdad.

The meeting opened with a presentation about the experience and practice of nonviolence in Iraq, from our colleague Ismail Dawood. Afterwards, the audience had a general discussion about their experiences and lived reality, and the lessons they drew from past efforts to foster and implement nonviolent practices.

The second axis of the nonviolence meeting included interventions by activists from the protest movements in different cities and social sectors. The discussion focused on the nonviolent methods and tactics used by the activists.

During the third axis of the meeting, plans were drafted to re-establish an Iraqi national system for promoting nonviolence and developing the mechanisms of communication among activists in the movement. A committee of young men and women was chosen to carry out the process of coordination and communication to restore a national system for promoting nonviolence.

The Masar of Nonviolence and Peace Building is one of the specialized workspaces of the Iraqi Social Forum. The meeting was held within the framework of the Masar to enhance its work in the field to develop the nonviolence movement in cooperation with the Information Center for Research and Development, the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative, and the Italian organization Un Ponte Per, with the support of the Norwegian Karibu Foundation.

Fatima Alwardi

The Iraqi Social Forum