The past and current political landscape across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) left little room for youth to express their needs. With over 60% of the KRI population under the age of 30, providing opportunities for youth to engage in local governance mechanisms is critical. Building a skilled generation of Iraqi youth, who are equipped to play an effective role in their community, region, and country, will contribute to meaningful and lasting change in Iraq. Young women and men, who are empowered and engaged in decision-making processes, can be powerful drivers of positive political and social change. Search for Common Ground (Search)’s Promoting Inclusive Governance for Youth and Women in Iraq (IG) project is funded by the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). Search and local partners, Peace and Freedom Organization (PFO) and Civil Development Organization (CDO), are positioning youth to establish networks with local authorities and connect with community members and other youth leaders, enabling them to participate in governance processes and contribute to policy change.
Approach
This 18-month project brought young women and young men together to interact purposefully in a safe, coequal space, and forged trust and empathy with their communities, local authorities, and decision-makers. Young leaders, including young women and marginalized youth, who developed constructive civic engagement skills, were able to generate concrete, positive changes in their own communities. The IG project encouraged large groups of youth to become role models for effective and peaceful engagement in democratic governance in their communities. As a result, communities are more welcoming to youth engagement, and youth and women have the tools to enhance their participation in governance.
In mid-2020, the Middle East Research Institute conducted a Youth Mapping study to examine youth participation in the decision-making process across the target locations in the KRI and identified challenges and barriers. Search, alongside its local partners PFO and CDO, created six Youth Leadership Councils (YLCs), to bring youth concerns to local government structures. YLCs developed youths’ skills to identify shared interests and develop win-win solutions in a spirit of collaboration. They also provided a conduit for youth-specific needs and grievances to be addressed through policy and community dialogue. PFO and CDO helped to oversee the implementation of the IG Project on the ground and managed the progress of the YLCs.
As part of the IG project, Search also launched a media campaign: ‘Takatuf’ (in Arabic: ‘shoulder to shoulder’), with the support of Enlightors, a local media company. For the Takatuf campaign, Search selected youth with advocacy campaign ideas across Iraq. The selected participants received advocacy and communication training in order to be better equipped to conduct their own advocacy campaign and purposefully engage with their communities and local authorities. At each stage of the competition, the candidates with the best advocacy campaigns were selected to move on to the next round. Takatuf presented them with the skills, visibility, and confidence to build a solid advocacy campaign that reaches their community, and beyond.
Key Achievements
- Established and supported 6 YLCs in the Kurdistan region
- 10 town halls and 43 dialogue sessions held
- 6 small grants initiatives funded
- Capacity-building training of over 200 young leaders
- Advocacy and communications training for the 20 Takatuf youth participants
- Supported 20 youth-led advocacy campaigns across Iraq, with the support of coaches, judges, and Enlightors
