Mosul Student Contest: 22 projects selected to help Iraqi youth realize their potential
Launched in partnership with the Universities of Mosul and Nineveh and their respective career centers, the student projects focus on three main categories: campus life and civic engagement; employment and entrepreneurship; culture and heritage.
Revitalizing the campuses of Mosul and Niniveh
Many initiatives will enable recent graduates to launch a first initiative or to create their first job.
Indeed, after years of war, crisis and political instability, the labour market is experiencing an unprecedent change. While traditionally, the public service absorbed almost all young graduates, both public and private sectors are now struggling to offer opportunities.
The idea of the future Working With Us website is, for example, to propose a link between employers and job seekers. The My Doctor application will offer a valuable service to Mosulites by allowing them to find a doctor nearby and book an appointment without having to move. A Women's Forum will be created to allow female talents to share their experience and work together.
Day at @UniversityofMos. So impressed by talented young professionals & surprised by their contagious enthusiasm. @expertisefrance has chosen, for its first project in Iraq, funded by @CdCMAE, to focus on employment concerns for youth in partnership with @UniversityofMos pic.twitter.com/9ptNI0v8gF
— Jerome Heitz (@HeitzJerome) October 6, 2019
Several projects also aim to bring culture back in Mosul and the region. A team of 12 students will, for example, be supported and financed to create a permanent theater in Mosul. The team will produce a play to be performed on the International Day of Francophonie next year. Another important focus is the revitalization of the Mosul and Nineveh university campuses. It will involve, for example, planting trees to restore green areas or developing the Graduate Tracking application which aims to create a network of graduates and alumni, which would be a thoughtful and effective source of influence for the university.
The 22 teams, including almost half led by women, will all benefit from the support of a tutor who will help them at each stage of the project, including to overcome potential difficulties, and thus increasing the chances for success.
A first step towards broader support for young people
The Mosul Student Contest is part of broader project funded by the Center for Crisis and Support of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs to a level of €1.5 million. It is implemented by the French technical cooperation agency, Expertise France, whose offices in Erbil were officially inaugurated on October 7th.
The contest is a first step towards broader support for young people and, in particular, young entrepreneurs. Another wider program, Yanhad, which means "recover" in Arabic, is under discussion for co-financing, between France and the European Union. In particular, it will provide a wider range of support tools to young entrepreneurs, in particular through incubators in Mosul, Baghdad and Kurdistan. The idea is to support young people whose projects can have a leverage effect on the economy and society. The other dimension of Yanhad is to encourage civic spirit through a support to civil society initiatives supporting young people or are created by them.