Empowering youth and women to play an effective role in their communities is key to building harmony among different groups. UNDP Iraq’s Social Cohesion Programme is focused on equipping community actors and leaders with tools to prevent and deal with communal tensions through capacity building related to enhancing social cohesion, conflict resolution, and mediation techniques. At the end of February, over 130 members of Youth and Women for Peace groups from Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salah al-Din supported by UNDP Iraq came together in a workshop focusing on social cohesion. The youth and women discussed contributions to peacebuilding in Iraq while receiving training on communication, volunteerism, and leadership. A total of ten Youth and Women for Peace Groups are supported in the five governorates with generous funding from the Government of Germany.

The workshop provided an important opportunity for youth and women to network and share their plans, lessons learnt and goals for the future. Starting in March, the groups will implement over fifty community peace initiatives, tailored to the specific needs of their governorates. Together, these future leaders of tomorrow shared their thoughts on the qualities and values that make a great community leader.