Project profile — Promoting Social Cohesion in Iraq

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) key community leaders build social cohesion and address immediate needs in 10 host and internally displaced persons communities; (2) key community leaders resolve disputes and mitigate host and internally displaced persons community tensions.

Results achieved as of the end of the project include (March 2018): (1) implemented social projects, such as sporting events, where communities took it upon themselves to continue activities after the projects had formally ended; (2) provided conflict management training, which addressed long-standing tensions inside the communities; (3) Community Action Groups and women’s committees created positive linkages across community lines, with people regularly engaging even outside of program activities; and (4) on women’s roles in community decision-making: women who previously had very limited interactions with people outside of their immediate family showed an increase in: their confidence and leadership capacities, the awareness of their rights, and their willingness and ability to actively participate in their communities.