"Sumereen' is a project designed to develop alternative employment and environmental resources for the younger generation in Thi Qar (Southern Iraq), a Governorate particularly rich in history and environmental resources to be preserved. The ancient site of Ur, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, can be a starting point for the socio-economic development of the Thi Qar Governorate. The programme focuses on the younger generation and women as actors capable of creating new paths for regional growth, creating job opportunities by combining sustainable tourism and plans to protect the area's natural and cultural heritage.
The programme takes into account the current difficulties caused by the water shortage in the area, which has increased social tensions, as well as the local economy based predominantly on oil, whose price collapse has created serious youth unemployment. 'Sumereen' therefore aims to create safe and sustainable access to the ancient site of Ur, and to promote Thi Qar as an eco-friendly tourist destination, increasing visitor interest in the area. As a result, 400 jobs for young people and women in the Governorate will be created in the field of sustainable tourism and cultural preservation.
To this end, a feasibility study will be carried out for a traditional eco-village and visitor tour in Chybaish, and a similar plan for the archaeological site of Ur, both approved by Undp and the local Iraqi authorities. Social youth movements in the area will be involved with campaigns to promote Thi Qar as an eco-sustainable and cultural tourist destination for both Iraqi citizens and international tourism. A number of vocational workshops on the production of local handicrafts, typical of the Nasiriyah area and the Mesopotamian Marshes, will also be conducted.
20 micro-projects for young entrepreneurs will also be launched to financially support small business activities related to the construction of the eco-village, some eco-sustainable sports activities and handicraft workshops. 180 women and young people will be placed in a six-month internship programme in local enterprises and organisations.
The 'Sumereen' project is funded by Undp and the European Union's 'Supporting Recovery and Stability in Iraq through Local Developmpent' programme. Project partners are: Humat Dijlah, Safina Project, Studio Carlo Leopardi.
From May 2020 and until April 2021, Un Ponte Per through its project 'Life-saving and life-sustaining health assistance to the war-affected population in NES, Phase V', funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), has initiated a new intervention aimed at providing life-saving health care to the most vulnerable population in North East Syria, in the provinces of Raqqa, Hassakeh, Deir er Zor and Aleppo. Conflict and displacement continue to affect the NES, while needs have increased due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the non-renewal of UNSCR 2504 (January 2020), which has had a devastating impact on the provision of health services, especially in remote areas and camps for displaced people.
The intervention aims to improve - through synergy with the local partner organisation Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) and the local authorities - the health conditions and save the lives of war-affected people by restoring decent living conditions.
The specific objective of this 5th phase is to improve the population's safe access to comprehensive and quality life-saving care, as well as to obstetric, reproductive health and specialised care services in response to the Covid- 19 emergency. The implemented system will support 5 local health centres, 2 Mobile Units, 2 public hospitals, as well as a dense network of ambulances (50) of the local partner KRC.
The aim is to reach almost 150,000 war-affected people, including returnees, IDPs, refugees and host communities, with health services. Through an integrated strategy of health, awareness and protection services, the aim is to strengthen the self-protection and resilience capacity of one of the world's most harassed communities.
The project "Promoting the Economic and Social Empowerment of Vulnerable Women in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt" aims to promote the social and economic empowerment of vulnerable Syrian refugee and Jordanian women. The aim of the project is to contribute to the creation of sustainable medium- to long-term employment opportunities and forms of income and association for Syrian and Jordanian refugee women who want to start their own businesses.
After the individualisation of some already established co-operatives, which need to be strengthened, specific seminars and training courses will be organised with the women beneficiaries of the project. The main activities of the project will focus mainly on training in business management and the acquisition of technical skills - courses in marketing, sales techniques, training in handicraft production and courses in customer relations techniques.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is to help improve the living conditions of vulnerable Jordanian women and Syrian refugee women in the Governorate of Ma'an through the creation of income-generating independent businesses.
From November 2019 to March 2021, Un Ponte Per through its project 'Rihlat Amani (My Journey to Safety)' has initiated a new intervention aimed at providing protection to the most vulnerable people in Jordan, more precisely in the provinces of Amman and Zarqa.
The intervention, in collaboration with several local partners, aims to increase the resilience and psychosocial support network for people with specific vulnerabilities, such as minors at risk, people with disabilities and victims of gender-based violence. The project envisages a series of initiatives and trainings aimed at improving the quality of integrated protection, mental health and disability inclusion services, with a focus on child protection and the prevention of gender-based violence.
More than 1,000 people have been reached with Paralympic sports activities, training to prevent gender-based violence, listening sessions for women, awareness-raising for young people on diversity inclusion and bullying prevention, after-school classes (homework support and remedial courses), mental health awareness sessions, counselling for adolescents and adultsə with disabilities. Through psychosocial support, training of young community leaders for change, inclusive sports, and integrated mental health and disability protection services, a tangible improvement in the living conditions of children who are victims of exploitation and abuse, adults and minors with disabilities and psychosocial disorders, victims of gender-based violence, and refugees in the provinces of Amman and Zarqa is expected. The strategic objective is to change the attitudes of families/social groups in the way they view girls' education and social activism, as well as the very perception of the role of women and young people within political movements, in defence of fundamental rights and freedoms.
The project is supported by funds from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). Activities are carried out together with the partner Theodor Schneller School and in cooperation with Mabarrat Um al Hussein, Our Step Association, Be Positive Association, Sayyidat al-Dleil Society, Irada wa Tasmeem Association, Intu Minna Association, Al Ather Association.
From 1 January 2020 until 31 December 2021, Un Ponte Per thanks to the project 'Health Waste Management and Recycling in North East Syria' - financed by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and co-funded by the Province of Bolzano - starts a new intervention aimed at the proper management and storage of health waste in NES, also inaugurating urban policies and widespread recycling systems in the Governorate of Al Hassakeh.
The intervention aims to strengthen - through synergy with the local partner organisation Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) and the local authorities - the capacity system in place to protect the health and environmental rights of the population in North East Syria, succeeding in consolidating and expanding the medical waste management system currently provided by the Department of Health (DoH), KRC and the Department of Local Government and Environment (DoLAE) but also strengthening urban policies for the overall management of the solid waste stream and the promotion of recycling and circular economy activities.
The system to be implemented and properly monitored concerns 20 health facilities in the Jazeera Region and the support of municipalities in the management of municipal solid waste, as well as the involvement of 17 local companies engaged in plastic recycling. The overall waste management model to which it aspires is highly sustainable, respecting the principles of the green and circular economy.
The project therefore aims to improve local and regional waste management by providing transport vehicles, strengthening the capacities of local personnel, developing a market study on recycling and a strategic plan for regional-local solid waste management.
Preventing the eruption of conflicts and violence, transforming their causes and finding solutions based on dialogue through the strengthening of civil societies: this is the aim with which the Catalan organisation Novact (International Institute for Nonviolent Action) has in recent years set up Observatories for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (OPEV) in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The collaboration between Un Ponte Per, Novact, and the local organisations Laong and Pfo, will lead to the creation of an Observatory also in Iraq (OPEV - Iraq), thanks to the work of a Coordination Committee that will deal with evaluation, programming and monitoring from a technical-administrative point of view, and the creation of thematic groups for research, training and practical methodology.
OPEV-Iraq's work will focus particularly on the Syrian refugee population in Iraq, the internally displaced Iraqi population, and Iraqi and Kurdish host communities.
Through analysis, research, publication and training activities in Iraqi Kurdistan, OPEV-Iraq will elaborate a plan for the prevention of violent extremism in Iraq to be submitted to local, national, regional and international institutions, conducting networking actions with the United Nations and the European Union. Exchanges of good practices and coordination between OPEV-Iraq and the other Observatories in Jordan and Catalonia through seminar activities will make its action more effective.
The ultimate goal will be to encourage the active participation of civil societies in the development of public policies in the field of peacebuilding, conflict resolution and the management of refugee populations, with a special focus on youth and women. This will counteract the spread of hate speech and foster social cohesion.
During 2021, thanks to the second phase of the project, numerous activities planned for the previous year and suspended due to the pandemic will be carried out. Specifically, with a special focus on Syrian refugees in the Sulaymaniyah area of the Arbat district, activities will be promoted to raise awareness of gender-based violence and inter-community conflict management and mediation. These activities are organised in the Sulaymaniyah Community Centre and include radio programmes, awareness-raising campaigns on non-violent conflict management and sport as a tool to counter violence, educational, artistic and sports activities, and awareness-raising sessions on Covid-19. A total of 8,160 people will be involved.
Promoting social cohesion and development in the Community Centre of Arbat (Iraqi Kurdistan) through a series of activities involving the youth and women population, including the Iraqi displaced community, the Syrian refugee community and the host Kurdish community. This is the aim of 'Horizons of Peace and Development in Arbat', a new programme funded by UNDP and German Cooperation, recently launched in Iraqi Kurdistan for a duration of seven months. The implementation of the project will be made possible by the cooperation with Civil Development Organisation - CDO, Democratic Human Rights Development Centre - DHRD and the Directorate for Arts and Cultures of the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah.
The aim of the project is to support the Arbat Community Centre, targeting a total of 1,700 young people and women, already active within their communities, through a series of cultural, sports and peacebuilding activities aimed at promoting social cohesion and building bonds of trust between the refugee, displaced and host communities. Young activists will be involved in meetings, gatherings and workshops that will focus on resolving social tensions between the host community and the displaced and refugee communities living in the Arbat area through participatory processes that promote social cohesion and peacebuilding.
At the end of the training, these young activists will acquire specific skills to be able to analyse and prevent the causes of conflicts, and then become part of Conflict Prevention Teams (CPT), modelled on what has already been built in the Youth Centres opened in Mosul, Iraq.
In parallel, psycho-social workers will be trained to intervene in the centre, providing support to communities in need. Training courses will also be organised within the centre to manage cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV), provide psychological support, as well as sessions on non-formal education and the prevention of violent extremism.
"Sawa" (Together) is a programme launched in Jordan to protect persons with disabilities belonging to the most vulnerable segments of the Syrian and Jordanian refugee community, which aims to provide integrated rehabilitation, psychosocial support, empowerment and inclusion services, with a specific focus on Paralympic sports and PeerCounselling activities.
The project aims to reach a wide segment of the population facing protection-related challenges and needs, without discrimination of any kind, with a special focus on young people with disabilities. The intervention will involve 46 women and men between the ages of 15 and 50 and their families, who will be involved in Paralympic sports activities, such as table tennis and gymnastics, to enhance their individual skills.
Thanks to the cooperation with the Jordan Paralympic Committee, the activities will take place in the space of the 'Sport City' in Amman, equipped for all needs. The sports activities, in addition to psycho-socially strengthening the children involved, will have a rehabilitation and physical strengthening function.
An experienced Peer Counsellor with disabilities, already trained and qualified, will be engaged in weekly sessions for a period of 30 weeks to support a target group of 30 persons with disabilities, both from the host and refugee communities. The main components that make up the Peer Counselling pathway are the recovery of a sense of self-sufficiency, the reconstruction of human relations, and social reform (advocacy for rights as members of society and active participation).
Through this integrated and holistic approach, it will be possible to intervene on people's sense of marginalisation, to improve their self-esteem through the awareness that they can be autonomous, despite their limitations and specificities.
This project is part of a broader intervention that Un Ponte Per has been carrying out for years in Jordan, focusing on the inclusion and protection of Syrian and Jordanian people with disabilities.
Between June and September 2019, Un Ponte Per, through the project "Provision of primary health care and emergency services to Iraqi refugees and IDPs in Al Hol camp", funded by the World Health Organization, initiated a new emergency response intervention in North East Syria, and more specifically in Al Hol camp. The intervention ensured continuous access to quality primary health care and emergency services for the refugee (especially Iraqi) and displaced populations living in Al Hol camp. The displaced population is the most vulnerable, especially childrenə, women and the elderlyə.
Specific services were provided for women and girls, thanks to the collaboration with the Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC), UPP's partner in the area since 2015.
The clinics and clinics in the camp have been equipped with a delivery room, with specialised staff available 24/7; an emergency room, for the treatment of people injured by mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other remnants of war, with an area dedicated to stabilising patients; a testing laboratory for clinical tests; and four ambulances to direct more complicated cases to better-equipped health facilities in Hassakeh.
A new project for social cohesion in the Nineveh Plain has kicked off: it is called 'Maan Lil-salam'(Social Cohesion through Sociocultural and Educational Activities for Youth in Hamdanya and Tilkeif Districts), is carried out within the Ninewa Return Program, is financed by BMZ through Maleteser International, and will run for the next two years.
The objective of the two-year programme is to strengthen the processes of social cohesion, intercultural dialogue and cooperation between the different communities living in the Nineveh Plain, and which are returning to areas liberated from the presence of Daesh, by investing in the role of young people and thus preventing new tensions and conflicts.
The project will take place particularly in the Hamdanya and Tilkeif Districts, and will see the organisation of numerous Peace Education activities in which public school teachers and parents of children will be involved; staff of the local Education Directorate; members of the different communities, girls and boys.
In particular, the programme includes the opening of four Youth Centres, accessible to all communities, in buildings that will be rehabilitated for the occasion. Within each of the Centres, activities, workshops and training will be organised focusing on the themes of non-formal education, Peace Education, sports and arts against violence, protection and knowledge of the cultural heritage of the communities and inter-religious dialogue.
Training for Trainers (ToT) on Peace Education will also be organised for staff of the Directorate of Education (DOE) in Nineveh and school staff in public institutions, which will include 60 hours of training on Peace Education and the development of Resilience techniques.
