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Un Ponte per · CDO · DHRD April 2017 — December 2018 Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
◆ Social cohesion

Arbat Community Center, Sulaymaniyah

Stood up a multi-service centre serving refugees, IDPs and host community — including a GBV survivors' service and a youth volunteer programme.

Period
April 2017 — December 2018
Role
Project Manager
Location
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
Donor
UNDP
Team
Un Ponte per + CDO + DHRD — 18 staff combined
Overview

The Arbat Community Center sits next to one of the largest displacement camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. I led the project to stand it up as a multi-service hub serving refugees, internally-displaced persons and the host community — three populations who often have nowhere to meet on neutral ground.

The centre offers GBV survivor services run by the Directorate of Human Rights and Development, vocational training, child-friendly spaces, and a youth volunteer programme that's still running today. The design was deliberately participatory — host-community members sat on the steering committee from day one.

What I delivered

What I delivered

  1. Centre concept & operational plan
  2. Partnership agreements (Un Ponte per + CDO + DHRD)
  3. GBV survivors' service protocol
  4. Youth volunteer programme curriculum
  5. UNDP donor reporting