First civic education workshop in Najaf and Launch event

On 29-30 September the first civic education workshop was held in the city of Najaf. Participants had the opportunity to learn about civic skills, values, and the principles of political knowledge and social cohesion, in a comprehensive and carefully-designed workshop.

Importantly, we used a dual approach combining theory with interactive exercises, to foster active engagement and cultivate participants’ critical thinking abilities. With this approach, we are looking to enhance the trainees’ interaction and develop their critical thinking skills. This can then be applied in the real-world to make a positive change in their local communities.

On 4 October 4 the launch event for the project “Democracy Needs Civic Education – A Civic Education Platform for Iraq” took place in Erbil. The event brought together diverse stakeholders engaged in civic education in Iraq and provided an opportunity to showcase the project’s activities and its key pillars.

Moreover, in late September and early October, the team carried out meetings with numerous key stakeholders in the field of civic education in Iraq. These included officials from the public sector (representatives from ministries), and prominent civil society organisations (both international and domestic NGOs) such as the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the Rewaq Baghdad Center as well as officials from the German Embassy in Baghdad. These meetings proved crucial to the launching of the project. It allowed the project team to highlight the project’s aims and objectives, and also fostered discussions on potential collaboration opportunities with key stakeholders in the future.