From the 4th to the 7th of September, the Violent Extremism Prevention Youth Camp took place in Sulaymaniyah, Dukan. The event was funded by United Nation Population Fund and was organized as a part of the project Youth Engagement for Peace by the OPEV, in partnership with Novact, Un Ponte Per, the Iraqi Social Forum, the Iraqi Civil Society Initiative and LaOnf. Those days, about 30 youngsters from different parts of the Iraqi geography were sharing a house in the countryside and were involved in a variety of activities aimed to educate and raise awareness on prevention of violent extremism practices. The first day everyone were introducing themselves to the group and telling the rest things about themselves and the provinces where they live. The next days, sports and games were scheduled as well as other activities as tools to deliver messages of peace, tolerance and to increase the cohesion and friendship of the group.
To conclude the camp, an open discussion was conducted by the manager of the project and the youth participants of the Violent Extremism Prevention Youth Camp regarding the knowledge of peacebuilding and peacebuilding mechanisms as well as the idea of building social cohesion and accepting diversity.
