Twenty-Four Young Iraqi Fellows Complete Workshop on Needs Assessment and Effective Communication in Istanbul

14 December 2017, Hiroshima, Japan – The UNITAR Hiroshima Office has successfully completed the second workshop of the UNITAR Iraq Fellowship Programme: Entrepreneurship and Youth Leadership Training, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 7 – 11 December 2017. The Fellowship is a six-month specialized capacity-building programme that examines entrepreneurship and youth leadership in the context of Iraq. It is comprised of four face-to-face workshops and is being implemented with the generous support of the Government and People of Japan.

Twenty-Four Coaches and Fellows, including 12 women, from various public sector, private sector, academic institutions, media, and civil society organizations participated in the training and exchanged ideas and insights on working together in a challenging environment like Iraq. Building on Workshop I, held in Baghdad in October, Fellows, young leaders from various sectors of Iraqi society, continued their journey with Workshop II, gaining knowledge and skills vital to undertaking organizational needs assessment (ONA), environmental analysis, and effective communication in their workplaces. The organizational needs assessment is the first step in developing Fellows’ self-led projects, which will be the focus of Workshop III, to be held in early February next year in Hiroshima, Japan. Following the completion of Workshop II, Fellows will conduct an organizational needs assessment in their own working environments as an assignment, incorporating field observations and data collection.

UNITAR Hiroshima Office Head Mihoko Kumamoto commented, “Learning to identify the root-causes of any issue and to assess the issue objectively using various methodologies is a critical step in formulating solutions to address an issue effectively. The participants have learned these critical methodologies in the Istanbul workshop. Furthermore, the Fellows this cycle come from various parts of the country, which has contributed to the group understanding and appreciating diversity.”

About the UNITAR Iraq Fellowship

The Fellowship aims to cultivate the social entrepreneurship and project-development knowledge, skills, and attitudes of selected Iraqi professionals and features a blended learning methodology and includes asynchronous and online training, coupled with two international workshops. Each workshop is linked by participant-led projects examining challenges and opportunities as they exist in Iraq today. More »

For more information, please contact:

At the UNITAR Hiroshima Office

Mr. Shamsul Hadi SHAMS | E-mail: shamsul.shams@unitar.org | Phone: +81 82 511 2424

At the Embassy of Japan in Iraq

Ms. Maika Fukada | E-mail: maika.fukada@mofa.go.jp |  Phone: +964 (0)770 444 8206