Aleppo countryside – Assemm Melhem

The Syrian Association for Citizen’s Dignity (SACD) has launched a series of training sessions and workshops in the regions of Azaz in north of Aleppo, Atme in north of Idlib, on the Syrian-Turkish border, and in Urfa and Istanbul in Urfa and Istanbul to revitalize the youth community, providing them with more qualified staff understanding their roles and enhancing their political awareness.

The project, entitled “Empowering Syrian Youth,” is supported by the Canadian government, “after the spread of despair among the youth category,” stated the project coordinator in the Syrian interior, Amer Zaidan, to Enab Baladi.

Zaidan said that the goal of the project is to support young people and qualify them with skills and expertise to be able to work in the realm of public affairs and provide them with the opportunity for political practice through theoretical foundation and practical experience by establishing a youth body in the SACD to be an application platform for what they have learned.

The Association started its training sessions on January 18, targeting more than 96 young people between the ages of 18 and 30 in all centers. Zaidan indicated that the participants were chosen according to criteria set by supervisors from the Association.

The training sessions last for ten days, with an average of seven hours per day. These sessions tackle several topics, including political awareness, strategic management, and the impact of the media on shaping public opinion.

“In its true concept, teamwork is almost a far-fetched goal, but it is not impossible if we can master the factors of success of work teams,” said Wassim al-Hajj, a human development trainer, a graduate from the business administration department and one of the trainers in the project.

According to the trainer, teamwork consists of several interconnected behaviors among the team members, starting with the most crucial factor, confidence-building, which will break the barrier of fear of entering into a constructive intellectual difference, will, in turn, enrich knowledge about all issues and challenges, and will result in clear decisions that do not need much explanation and interpretation. The team will stick to these principles, will be ready to assume responsibility, and will focus on the shared collective rather than personal goals.

“We do not lack workforce or the masterminds, nor do we lack creativity, but we lack projects and initiatives that are capable of employing youth energies and organizing them effectively and fruitfully to serve the society’s interests,” said Osama al-Saqa, one of the trainees, to Enab Baladi.

The trainee pointed out that this is the first time that he participates in such training sessions.

Trainee Abdullah al-Hassan believes that over the years of the revolution, young people in various fields have been dependent and often placed in the back rows. The Association is thus seeking through these sessions to motivate these young people and provide them with the requirements to have an active role on the ground.

The SACD is an independent civil movement for civil rights founded by Syrian citizens in December 2018, working on promoting, protecting, and securing the rights of Syrian refugees and IDPs, as it defines itself.