The Iraqi Social Forum (ISF) and the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI)

As part of the effort to develop capacities in youth from cities participating in the “Paths of Coexistence in Mesopotamia” project, the Iraqi Social Forum held a training for the peace forums in Falluja and Ramadi on 5 May 2018. 5 young men and 5 young women from the two cities participated and acquired new strategies for planning and implementing their upcoming campaigns.

The training included a number of tools necessary for intelligent campaign planning and methods for results-based management. In this, it built the capacities of the young people involved in the project, ensuring that they will have the knowledge they need to carry out activities which aim to build peace and promote social cohesion (for instance, by forming community dialogue councils within their cities). The training will also serve these young activists as they devise innovative campaigns to protect the cultural and natural heritage around them, with special attention directed at preserving the health of the Euphrates River, a source of life for all the cities involved in the project.

“Paths of Coexistence in Mesopotamia” and its slogan “We Love Iraq” is a project that helps urban youth, their organizations and volunteer teams who are working together to build another Iraq. The project is implemented by the Iraqi Social Forum and the Information Center for Research and Development, in cooperation with the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative and the Italian organization, Un Ponte Per… with additional support from the Swiss FAI Foundation.