The Cultural Center of Nasiriyah hosted a training dedicated to developing the capacities of youth activists about campaign planning and analysis, target identification and methods of evaluating campaign results.
Salman Khairallah, from the secretariat of the Iraqi Social Forum, identified three key areas on which to focus — youth, women and cultural heritage — and for each one participants in the training were asked to analyze related problems and to identify smart targets that could serve as realistic aims for civil campaigns in Nasiriyah. The young activists came away from the training with clear ideas for three new campaigns with the following goals:
- Enhancement of the contribution of youth in Nasiriyah in the cultural and knowledge fields. Participants discussed the low reading levels of many young people in Nasiriyah, and the lack of interest they take in cultural and scientific activities in general. In response to this, trainees suggested holding a festival called “Dhi Qar Readers” as well offering public seminars to encourage young people to engage in cultural activities, and to involve themselves in institutions like Dhi Qar University and the Education Directorate in the province.
- Enhancement of the freedom of women in Nasiriyah. Participants acknowledged that there is no suitable environment for women to work in Nasiriyah. Some ideas emerged to address this problem, such as holding seminars for women where they might discuss ways to create better working environments for women. They also considered the possibility of launching a campaign on social media (including articles and videos) highlighting the importance of women’s participation in the workplace. Finally participants suggested gathering together employers, companies and investment banks and encouraging them to open their doors to women and providing them what they require to work.
- Provide direct support for the existing campaign “Our Marshlands as World Heritage” launched last year. Participants suggested organizing a voluntary initiative to provide media support to the museum by writing about it and its importance, and spreading these posts on social media. They also discussed inviting Iraqi channels and newspapers to visit and write about it. A campaign encouraging schools and universities to visit the museum for their annual educational programs was also considered, as was asking the Iraqi government to allocate financial support to sustain the museum.
The Mashufna Cultural Center will continue to work on these topics with the volunteer teams in the city.
Twelve young people, including two women, representing various volunteer groups working in the “I Love Thi Qar Forum”, participated in the training which lasted for two consecutive days. These teams are: Ambitious Humans, the Dhi Qar Youth Team, 14GK Group, the Dhi Qar Young Ladies and the Mashufna volunteer team.
This training is part of an ongoing cooperation between the I Love Thi Qar Forum in Nasiriyah and the Iraqi Social Forum based in Baghdad, and is part of a broader program aimed at supporting Iraqi youth in a number of Iraqi provinces called “Paths of Coexistence in Mesopotamia and Middle East”, which is funded by the Swiss Foundation (FAI) and implemented in cooperation with the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI), the Italian Organization, Un Ponte Per…(UPP) and the Information Center for Research and Development. The campaign aims to promote the values and principles of the Iraqi Social Forum: social cohesion, peace-building and spreading the spirit of peaceful coexistence among the people of Iraq.
