There are two crucial and complementary components of this project. One is to build civil society organizations to resolve issues and face challenges which make up daily life and empower disadvantaged and marginalized communities. The second is to focus on increasing and encouraging the youth movement in Iraq and Lebanon, encouraging them to learn from each other on ways to reduce interconfessional tensions. This will be done through the development of effective communication, partnerships and support with and for youth, through focused activities and networks.

 It has become clear, through experience and direct requests from Iraqi civil society organizations and NGOs, that there is an increasing need for training with a view to empowering civil society in the area of conflict-resolution and peace-building. This need to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to better address challenges in Iraq arises in response to a number of factors, the most important are the following:

• The majority of Iraqi NGOs, both those that are well established and those that are newly created are often unfamiliar with management procedures, project planning, community building and the process of sustainable development.
• Members of civil society have been excluded from decision-making processes at community, local and national levels, thereby undermining their capacity to bring about change.
• Iraqi women, although often well educated and experienced, have been largely excluded from participation and have been underrepresented in decision-making and management structures.
• Iraqi youth face widespread insecurity, both physical and financial, and above all a dearth of employment and other opportunities, to improve their lives and to spearhead the next generation of leaders;

• The vulnerability and fragility of organizations have been exacerbated by insecurity, threats and violence which have hindered the effective implementation of projects and programs across all sectors of Iraqi society

The four main activities of this project include:

• The organization of a series of one-week workshops for Iraqi civil society and non-governmental organizations on conflict-resolution and capacity-building (Each of these capacity-building workshops will have two parts, one focusing on the underlying principles of transparency, good governance and democracy, and second on strategic planning, leadership community organization and networking. )
• The implementation of follow-up initiatives in Iraq by workshop participants in the form of small-scale projects at community, local and national levels.
• The organization of a series of one-week exchange workshops for youth on inter-sectarian violence in conflict and post-conflict society in Iraq and Lebanon.
• A biannual newsletter.

This project will be implemented in partnership with The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, of Canada's leading non-government international development. To find out more information regarding their organization please visit their website, www.devp.org.