Report on Youth Delegation to Tuscany Region in

Italy

Youth spring across ethnicities: a new social alliance to empower youth of minorities in North Iraq and KRG

EuropeAid-European Commissions DIC-MED/2013334-829

The delegation in Iraq and KRG visited Tuscany region in Italy between 10th -19th of December

2015 within the project of “youth spring across Ethnicities” , the project funded by European

Union and implemented by Al Mesalla ORG. for Human Resource Development, UPP and ARCI

and some other local institutes, association and organizations in each of Italy and KRG,

including IID, Yazidi Solidarity, Municipal of Valdera , Table of peace …etc.

The purpose of the delegation to:

1. Exchange information and ideas and to transfer the situation and crises and also the

situation of IDPs and Syrian refugees.

2. The situation of the youth and women situation in the region.

3. Minorities in Iraq and the risks are facing.

4. The situation of the cities and villages after ISIS crises.

5. How to involve youth in the youth center and how to benefit from experience in

Tuscany region.

Below is the agenda for the delegation to Italy:

1- Azra Jwad – Christian from Mosul/Qaraqosh

2- Haneen Maki- Bahai Minority / Baghdad

3- Basam Salim – Yazidi Minority from Mosul/Basheqa

4- Rana Abdul – (Arab-Turkman-Kurd) from Mosul

5- Resan Edo- Yazidi from Shxan/ Mosul

6- Fuad Abdullah – Kurdish muslim from Kirkuk

7- Fathi – Director from Ankawa Youth Center

8- Salar Ahmed- project coordinator

Subject : Delegation to Italy Center name: Youth Center delegation

Reported by: Salar Ahmed & Rana Al Bayati Date:10-19/Decemberr/2015

Below is the agenda for the delegation:

SCHEDULE OF THE IRAQI DELEGATION IN TUSCANY 11-19 of December 2015

Day hour place

PERSONS OR INSTITUTION TO BE MET

MEETING REASON REFERENCES FOR

THE DEFINITION OF PROGRAMS

Friday 11.12

11.00 Arrival of delegation

Partners of project in Civil society

Welcome at the airport. Supper and explanation of weekly program.

Martina Pignatti, Carla Cocilova, Pietro Pertici

15.00 Pontedera

Meeting with the Mayors board of the Union of Municipalities

Welcome and formal meeting with Politicians

Giovanni Forte

Night Dinner

Saturday 12.12

9.00-13.00 a.m.

Pontedera (PI)

1st training session (4h): Participative and inclusive approach. How to draft a comprehensive action plan. Example of programs addressed to youth and created by a system of consultation between institutions and civil society.

Carla Cocilova Sara Bandecchi (ARCI Servizio Civile) Giovanni Forte Monica Baldini

16.00-18.00

Fornacette (PI)

Meeting with Youth association Comitato XXV Aprile

Meeting a concrete and active experience of youth association

To be confirmed

18.30-24.00

Vicopisano (PI)

Circolo ARCI Ortaccio

Meeting with the members of the circle. Sharing the idea of community center. Explaining how to build a comprehensive and collective program of activities. Dinner and public initiative in the circle.

Carla Cocilova

Sunday 13.12

12.00 Lari (PI)

Social lunch and meeting with Associazione la Rossa

Knowing an association and sharing the project purposes and activities

Carla Cocilova

Afternoon Free

Monday 14.12

9.00-13.00

Pontedera

1st training session (4h): Participative and inclusive approach. How to draft a comprehensive action plan. Example of programs addressed to youth and created by a system of consultation between institutions and civil society.

Carla Cocilova Giovanni Forte Coop.Arnèra (social cooperative staff)

14.30-18.30

Pontedera

2nd session (4 hours) Team building and team working activities. Different practical and concrete techniques to build up a group (as staff team and as youth group)

Coop.Arnèra (social cooperative staff)

Tuesday 15.12

Morning and afternoon

Empoli

ARCI Empolese Valdelsa and Association Agrado (Youth association working with youth)

3rd session (8 hours) Youth involvement and community approach: theory, programs and some concrete examples

21.00 Pontedera Population

Public initiative about Iraqi situation and presentation of the project

Wednesday 16.12

9.00-11.00 11.30-12.30

Pisa

Students and teachers Municipality representatives

Meeting with High schools Formal meeting with Pisa Municipality

Assessora M.Chiofalo

16.00-19.00

Pisa, UPP office, ex Opera Cardinal Maffi

University students and civil society representatives

Meeting with student representatives and associations of Pisa

Martina Pignatti

21.00 Pisa Population

Participation to an event organized by students networks about international situation

Martina Pignatti

Thursday 17.12

morning

FREE DAY afternoon

Friday 18.12

morning Meeting with school or youth association

TBC

Visit of Florence

18.00 Participation to a public initiative

Saturday 19.12

Morning Pontedera Partners Evaluation and follow up

6 pm Departure

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The delegation arrived to Pontedera noon time on 11th of

December 2015, and in same day had the first meeting to

discuss the agenda with each of Carla from ARCI Association

and Martina from UPP and to address the role of each

Planning for delegation

activities with each of UPP

and ARCI

individual from Iraqi delegation and the association, organizations and municipal that planned to

visit, also discussed logistic issues related to the delegation.

Meeting with president

of Municipals in

Valdera and some

Mayors

In the same day the delegation met with the Mayors board of the Union of Municipalities and

also the president of 12 municipals in Valdera Mr, Giovanni Forte, the Mayors welcome the

delegation and explained why it is important to meet such a delegation from Iraq, in order to

understand better the situation in Iraq and Kurdistan Region after recent crises including the

war against ISIS, and also explained the work in the municipals of Valdera.

The delegation clarified some important points as they came from different part of Iraq and half

o0f them were internal displacement people who left their places because of the ISIS attach in

Iraq, also explained the situation of youth in Iraq and why it is important to have youth centers

in the region in order to promote youth from different background for peace-building, tolerance

and coexistence.

Each individual in the delegation gave short speech about different issue related to the whole

situation in the country including immigration, refugees, youth, minority and of course the

violence occur after all crises heated the country, and women issue was part of discussion and

there were some question from audience came to welcome the delegation about some unclear

issues.

On 12th of December 2015 there were the first training for the youth and delegation on

Participative and inclusive approach, How to draft a comprehensive action plan, for Example of

programs addressed to youth and created by a system of consultation between institutions and

civil society, the leaded by each of Carla Cocilova from (ARCI Servizio Civile) Giovanni Forte(the

president of Municipals in Valdera) and Monica Baldini.

The session started with the detailed explanation about the youth center and how the youth

and volunteers work in the center and the ways that the center encourages youth from different

background to involve within the activities in the center.

Carla and Giovanni explained how the system of the youth center and association work and how

could benefit from their experience and translated into the reality situation in Iraq, and also

Monica Baladini explained how the system works that to involve everyone in the process in

using democratic Methods.

On the evening of 12th of December 2015, the delegation meet with the members of the circle

sharing the idea of community center in Vicapisiano, Explaining how to build a comprehensive

and collective program of activities.

This even was opportunity to meet with one of the ARCI circles and discus our project and

situation in Iraq and KRG, also was time we heard how people worked in Kobani crises,

especially the initiatives who support the people in Kobani and the way they are working with

the Kurdish Syrian youth in the city.

On Sunday 13th of December 2015, the delegation participated in the Social lunch and meeting

with Associazione la Rossa in Lari , in order to Knowing an

association and sharing the project purposes and activities.

The delegation shared their idea and opinion with people in the

event and there were speech by Salar Ahmed to introduce the

member of delegation and the project of “Youth Spring Across the

ethnicities” to the people in the event and also the people

welcome the delegation in the Lari.

Social Lunch was a

meeting the

delegation

exchanged the idea

and shared

information with the

local communities in

presence of some

refugees from Africa

Training session: Participative and inclusive approach. How to draft a comprehensive action plan.

Example of programs addressed to youth and created by a system of consultation between

institutions and civil society.

On 14th of December 2015, the delegation participated in the session to plan to address how to

work with youth and children in the centers with the trainer Helga, the trainer worked with the

youth on how to involve and encourage youth in the activities and in the center, and also

discussed some methods that had been implemented in the youth centers in the past.

On the same day on 14th of December 2015, the delegation

visited Youth association (Agardo) in Sovigliana in Employ

City to discuss Youth involvement and community approach:

theory, programs and some concrete examples.

The plan for meeting the youth center to exchange experience and ideas between both centers,

the delegation met with the staff, trainers and volunteers in the Agardo center, plus of the

Mayor of the center, the first day of the meeting starting with the welcome and introduction of

the both centers, and also was detail explanation about the center partner and how they write

and apply for the projects.

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On 15th of December 2015, the delegation

participated in the second session of training

with the trainer Helga , and it was practice

Agardo Youth

Association,

working with youth

activities how to deal with youth and how to direct them in academic way to lead other

volunteers, the youth from delegation participate with Helga in deep trainings and discussion to

build their capacity and to understand more how to work with youth and children.

Second day in Agardo Youth

Association to introduce them with

activities and plan of the youth center

in KRG and how the plan work

The second day of the delegation visit to go back to Agardo Association Center on 15th of

December 2015, the meeting was to introduce Agardo Association with Youth center in KRG,

and how new developed the plan to involve youth in the center and the methods to organize

activities in the center and outside centers in the IDPs camp.

The delegation present two PowerPoint by Each of project manager Salar Ahmed and

coordinator for Erbil Center Fouad Abdullah about the establishment of the youth centers and

how to create safe place for youth to visit it in daily basis and the service provided freely by the

center to the youth.

The delegation participated in the session with

people from Pontedera, politician, Associations

and activists to talk about Iraqi situation and

present whole project “Youth Spring across

Ethinicities” in order for people in the region to understand more about the situation in Iraq

before and after ISIS war and all other crises, including flow of the IDPs toward Kurdistan region

which estimated by more than 1500000 people from other Iraqi cities , also each of the member

of the delegation spoke about their minorities and components and their cities.

Meeting with schools:

On 16th of December 2015, the delegation dived in to two groups in order to visit secondary

schools as there were two meeting in same time in two schools for that was necessary to dived

delegation to cover as much as many schools in same time.

The meeting was about to tell students what we do in the youth center and also to explain for

them general situation for youth in our country also to give them some of the example about

the schools in Iraq and how to encourage them in the Youth Centre and transfer the activities of

the youth center to the schools.

There were time of discussion and questions asked by the students in order to get more

information about real situation and the situation of the IDPs girls in the camp and outside camp

also local community, the student union in the schools shoed the delegation how the process of

Meeting with people from

Pontedera and politician

involving youth and students work in the schools to involve youth in the decision making, also it

was exchanging T-Shirts with logo of the center with schools.

Meeting with University students in UPP office

The delegation meet with University students in Pisa inside Main UPP office in order to discuss

youth situation and also to answer students questions and concerns about multiple issues in

Iraq and Kurdistan related to the women, IDPs, refugees, students and youth.

Participation to an event organized by students networks about international situation

The delegation meet with big number of people from organizations, associations, students

unions and others interested to know more about Iraq and Kurdistan region, the discussion

started and lasted for more than two hours, at the beginning it was presentations from some

members of the delegation about the situation in Iraq, especially Mosul city, the discussion

mainly was about Ethnic and religion minorities and how they effected of ISIS attack in the

region, people in Italy want to know exactly what is happening on the ground, as we heard from

them, they don’t believe much media and the stories telling in the media, the delegation tried to

transfer the correct information and news about what happening in Iraq and Kurdistan and the

war effected people life.

Formal meeting with Pisa Municipality

In the afternoon of 16th December 2015, the delegations meet with Mrs., Maria luicia from Pisa

Municipal and people from women union we discussed the process of the project and the work

in the Youth Centers in Kurdistan region, the discussion lasted more than 1 hour.

Pisa municipal promised to support us if we have any proposal working in schools and with the

youth, then Al Mesalla ORG. for Human Resource Development have been awarded with prize

form Pisa Municipal, this prize is given to individual, organizations and Association who has role

to improve women issues in the world.

This year this prize awarded to Al Mesalla ORG. for its role working with local, IDPs and refugees

women in KRG and for the service the organization provided to those women.

Participation to a public initiative

On Friday 18th of December, 2015, the delegation participated in the public events organized by

ARCI, there were different subjects discussed, one of them related to Iraq and Kurdistan region

and the presentation was two parts, first; about the situation in Iraq and youth Centre and the

second part was about why people in Iraq immigrate toward Europe, as there are many risks on

their ways.

Evaluation and Follow-up

At the last day of the delegation trip it was meeting with each of Martina from UPP and Carla

from ARCI and Piatro from Table of peace to evaluate all the activities and the trip agenda and

other issues related to the delegation, was focused on the following points:

1- We all agree in that in general the trip for the delegation was successful and the

activities this year was perfect, it was only few notice we could work on it to make it

more better.

2- The most positive things about the trip was working directly with youth centers in

Tuscany region and live with them and work to gather to find out weak and strong

points and how we could make activities more effected.

3- Exchanging experiences with other organizations, Associations and individuals

4- Training sessions was great for the future we could make it better if it is practically more

than theory, as it is not difficult to get those articles through internet, but the practical

exercises will learn youth a lot.

5- Political and social events were important too in order to give them right message from

Iraqi people and to make them understand the situation and the reality of the crises and

problems directly from the delegation.