A new social development programme has just been launched to help young Syrian refugees in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey, as well as their respective host communities.

This 18-month initiative will be in 3 countries with the goal of improving living conditions for a total of 23,500 children and teenagers: This new programme for development and social cohesion programme in Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon programme is called “Fursa, resilient communities”.

The programme is designed to increase the independence of young members of Syrian refugee communities and their host communities in these three countries through economic and social inclusion processes, with funding from the European Community and implementation by local partners COSV (Coordination and Organisation of Volunteer Services) and SFCG (Search For Common Ground).

The first step towards creating better access to job opportunities and social inclusion for the young people from these countries who were forced to seek refuge to escape war is finding ways to create trust and friendship  between the young members of the refugee communities and the young members of their host communities.

In Iraq, The focus of the initiatives will be Dohuk and Suleimania and in the refugee camps of Domiz and Gawilan, which hosts most of the Syrian refugees in Northern Iraq. The goal is to reach 15,000 young people, thanks to the network of  Youth Centres built by our “Youth Spring Across Ethnicities” project.

In Turkey, we are working in Kills, Hatay and Gaziantep, in order to reach at least 5,000 young people.

In Lebanon our work is focusing on 10 refugee communities in the Akkar area, reaching at least 3,500 people.

Project activities revolve around three main goals: economic support, social stability and psychological assistance for young Syrian refugees and young Lebanese, Turks and Iraqis, with a special focus on those most at risk of recruitment by militias, child labour and early marriage, and those at risk of exclusion from education and the world of work.

Together with our national and international partners on the ground, we will establish a series of initiatives and services which, will help beneficiaries overcome trauma and increase their resilience, and thus encourage the young refugees, IDPs and young members of the host communities to work together to improve their living conditions and economic status.

Individual and vocational training courses, capacity building and round tables will facilitate dialogue, who will then be mentored in the joint creation of micro projects for economic development.