From June 26-27, the Save the Tigris Campaign will conduct a training for Iraqi youth environmental activists in Erbil. A group of around 25 activists from Baghdad and South Iraq will fly into the city and attend a two day-workshop organized by the Save the Tigris Campaign. International activists from the UK, Turkey, Netherlands – all part of the campaign Steering Committee – will discuss the work of the Save the Tigris Campaign and the anti-dam movement, while Iraqi activists from Waterkeepers Iraq and Al-Massala will share their experience in anti-dam campaigning in the Kurdish region.

Earlier, in February 2015, members of the ISF [Iraqi Social Forum] an ICSSI [Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative] met in Istanbul for a joint strategy meeting during which they discussed the current situation in Iraq and analyzed the opportunities and challenges for activism. For the Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes campaign, the main goal that has been set for the coming year(s) is to build a strong activist network in Iraq to protect Iraqi rivers and Marshes. An action calender was written for the coming period. In the past months, the Iraqi team in Baghdad built a network of activists, having organized a youth camp in the Marshes and awareness events in Baghdad. During these activities, a group of young volunteers was assembled, all of whom expressed to commit themselves to the campaign. This group will receive a two day-workshop in Erbil which will cover the global anti-dam movement, the impact of dams on Iraq’s rivers, environmental campaigning and civil society activism in Iraq. Volunteers will be able to get acquinted with the international activists of the campaign as well as partners in the Kurdish region. Working groups will discuss campaign activities to be organized in the next year in Iraq, on the basis of the action calender that had been created in February in Istanbul.

More updates to follow. #Save_Tigris